Just Stay Safe
by Miss Buch
Summary: Set a few years after the end of Book 4, Korra and Asami have settled down together, but a new threat has arisen in Republic City that leads to Korra leaving her wife to go to the Spirit World to find out what is going on. With them worlds apart will the Avatar find out what she needs to know and keep the people she loves out of harms way?
1. Chapter 1

_**Ah yet again the time has come where I have exams, and what is that in my head? New ideas for a Legend of Korra fic? Brilliant. Yes I have some new stuff for you lovely people, hope you enjoy, and as always, please read and review.**_

 _ **Miss Buch xxx**_

* * *

 _I wanted everything I never had,_

 _Like the love that comes with light,_

 _I wore envy and I hated that,_

 _But I survived._

 **Alive, Sia**

* * *

Asami rolled over in bed, letting out a low groan as she woke up. She reached out for the warm body that should have been next to her but didn't find anything. The inventor opened her eyes, letting them get accustomed to the darkness as she moved her hand around, still searching for Korra. Nothing. Asami sat up, pushing some inky black hair away from her face. Goosebumps popped up over her exposed arms when the covers slipped down and she noticed that the large window on the other side of the room was open a fraction. She could see the silhouette of her wife sitting on the balcony and Asami tilted her head to the side, frowning slightly. The young woman left the warmth of her bed, grabbing her patterned dressing gown and pulling it on over her nightie, tying the cord around the waist. She padded across the cold wooden floor and slipped through the gap in the curtains and the screen behind them. She found Korra sitting cross legged in a chair, still in her bed clothes and bathed in the light of a full moon. She was playing with a ball of water in one hand, splitting it into five smaller balls and twirling them around each other. The water moved down her fingers before being flicked away a few metres and turned into ice. The small ice spikes came back to the Avatar, hitting her hand and becoming water again. The water was then lifted away from her hand and rolled around in the air for a moment before being whipped into the floor.

"Korra?"

"Hm?" She lost control on the water and it splashed down onto the wood of the balcony. Asami settled herself into the chair next to her, curling up under the length of her dressing gown to keep her feet warm.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just couldn't sleep." Korra looked at Asami, seeing her normally made up face completely natural and her hair sticking up in some haphazard angles. It made her lips twitch at the edges, knowing she was the only person that ever got to see the city's greatest inventor looking like this. The Avatar pulled the water back out from the wood and curled it up and around itself a little absent mindedly. "It's the moon. It's been calling to me recently. Especially when she's full." Asami tilted her head to the side, watching as Korra focused on the water, making it twist and coil. She kept quiet, sensing her wife had more to say. "Did I ever tell you the story about what happened with Aang and the moon spirit?" Asami shook her head. "During the Hundred Years War, Aang, Katara and Sokka travelled up to the Northern Water Tribe. What they didn't know was that the Fire Nation were also planning a siege on the north. There was a beautiful princess in the Northern Water Tribe called Yue, and Sokka fell in love with her. She had been born very sick, and her father prayed to the Moon Spirit to save her – and it did. It gave her life. But when the Fire Nation attacked a general killed the embodiment of the Moon Spirit that lives in our world. You know, when the Moon Spirit was destroyed, water benders lose all their power? And with her home being attacked by the Fire Nation and the Avatar having gone to the Spirit World, she gave up her life to save the Northern Water Tribe. All the life that the Moon Spirit had given her – she gave it back. I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for her." Asami shifted slightly in her chair and the edge of her dressing gown fell off her feet, exposing them to the cool night hair. Korra moved the water to wrap around Asami's feet and warmed it slightly for her. "Sokka was head over heels for her." The inventor smiled, tilting her head to the side.

"That's a lovely story. But why are you telling me this?"

"The moon and the tides are the very essence of waterbending, we learned everything from the moon. But now she has something to tell me, and I don't know what it is." Korra looked at the round orb that gently lit the balcony they were sitting on. "I don't know, sitting out here and waterbending helps me think."

"Maybe you should take a trip to the Spirit World." Korra bit her lip.

"Perhaps I should. But I don't want to leave you here. Either of you. Not with the triads flaring up again. With me being so active in the government and police force, we're prime targets."

"We can go and stay at Air Temple Island while you're away if it makes you feel better. And you know I can take care of myself Korra." She said with a slightly disapproving look on her face.

"What about Avani? She's only four. She needs her mummy and her mama."

"I know that. But her mama can go away for a little while and come back. She'll be alright. I'll take some time away from the office and let Varrick look after the company for a bit. That way we can both stay on Air Temple Island and be safe." Korra looked down at the wooden floor, chewing thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek. Asami leaned over and put her hand on the side of her face, tilting her wife's head up to look at her. "Stop worrying. We'll be fine. Avani loves the air-kids."

"They are hardly kids anymore Asami. Jinora and Kai are getting married in a few months." Korra interrupted. Her wife pursed her lips for a second before continuing her sentence.

"And we've got the White Lotus to protect us. You know I love you to bits Korra, but we can look after ourselves. Stop worrying." The Avatar's face softened and she took both her wife's hands and smiled at her.

"Ok. I'll take a trip to the Spirit World. Tomorrow I'll warn the council, the President and our friends. I'll be gone for a week tops."

"You'll be gone for as long as you need to be gone." Asami raised an eyebrow at her. "I'll keep an eye on things while you're away. With the Triads heating up and President Raiko being such a pain about trafficking the spirit portal I'll be kept plenty busy."

"Please just keep you and Avani safe. I don't know what I'd do if I came back you two were…y-you know." Korra couldn't finish her sentence properly. The idea of her wife and daughter being dead or worse when she got back terrified her. Asami squeezed her hands.

"Everything will be fine. Go be the Avatar for a little while, just promise you'll be my wife and Avani's mama when you get back."

"I promise."

* * *

"C'mon baby girl! Eat your brekkie." Korra gurgled at her daughter, who threw her spoon at her. Korra's hand flashed out and the metal implement stopped dead in its tracks before slowly going back down the bowl of fruit.

"I'm not a baby anymore mama!"

"I know sweetie, I'm sorry. Now please eat your fruit, you're coming with me to work today." The little girl nodded obediently and picked up a slice of mango.

"Where's mummy?"

"She's gone to work early this morning. She needs to talk to Uncle Varrick."

"Ok."

"And I need to talk to you." Avani froze and looked up at her mama with bright eyes. They scanned Korra's face, working out whether she was in trouble for something or not.

"What's wrong mama?"

"The reason mummy needs to talk with Varrick is because I'm going away for a few days. I need to go visit an old friend."

"I don't want you to go." Avani's face started to crumple.

"Please don't cry sweetie." Korra pulled the girl into her lap and wrapped her arms around her. "I won't be gone long, I promise, it's just for a couple of days. And mummy will still be with you. You're going to stay on Air Temple Island while I'm gone, alright? Uncle Tenzin and all the airbenders will be there too." The Avatar ran her fingers gently through her hair and kissed her forehead.

"Ok." She mumbled.

"I've a special job for you as well. I want you to keep mummy safe while I'm gone. Can you do that?" Her daughter nodded, a wobbly smile forming on her face. "That's my girl. Now finish your fruit, we need to go talk to the Council." Korra let her daughter sit in her lap while she finished her breakfast, and then the pair of them got dressed. As she had aged, Korra had moved away from wearing her travel/battle clothes all the time, and now had a set of blue water tribe robes with a slightly Air Nomad design, so she could fight in them if she really needed to, but they were still formal. It took all of her dexterity and skill to get Avani into her smart clothes. Normally she would dress in a tunic and some loose bottoms and ran around barefoot, but now she was being forced into shoes and a dress that Asami had gotten for her a few months ago when they needed to go to Meelo's tattoo ceremony.

"Please Avani, we need to go soon."

"I don't want to wear the dress!" Korra sighed, pushing a hand through her short hair.

"If you wear the dress, we can fly to the council meeting." The girl's round face immediately brightened up.

"Really mama?"

"As long as you don't tell mummy, because I'll be in trouble. It will be our secret, ok?" Avani smiled at her and pulled the dress over her head. "Ok let's go!" Korra grabbed some pelts and used them to secure her daughter around her body.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me! What did I tell her?!" Asami exclaimed as she pointed at the flash of blue that was heading through the cloudy sky. "No flying unless I'm there! Oh she is in so much trouble."

"Ok, so when you get over your marital issues, you wanted to talk about the company?" Varrick steepled his fingers and leaned over the table slightly. Asami's brain switched back on, and she looked at the genius opposite.

"Korra is going to the Spirt World for a while, so I need you to look after things while I stay at Air Temple Island. Sales have been up over the last quarter, and I want to keep it that way. Don't put any new products out until I've given them the ok, don't break anything and don't spend all my money. Does that sound reasonable?"

"As always, I make no promises." Asami sighed. "Where is your wife? She has her head screwed on, and I want her overseeing everything you do."

"Ju Li is in the Earth Kingdom researching some new kind of turbines we could use for airships."

"When does she get back?"

"Three days from now." Asami mulled this over.

"Ok, when she gets back, please tell her to visit me." Varrick nodded.

* * *

"Councilmen-" Korra paused. "-and women," She said, gesturing to the Fire Nation designate and the Chief of Police. "I hope you are all well. My apologies for my daughter being here, but she's promised to be on her best behaviour while we have this meeting." Avani was blissfully unaware of everything her mama was saying because she was full absorbed in a colouring book. She had her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth as she frowned, focusing on keeping the green crayon inside the lines. "And you also have my apologies for calling a council meeting at such short notice, but it's important." Tenzin frowned at her, tilting his head to the side. "Recently I've been having…indications that mean I need to take a trip to the Spirit World. I don't know how long I'll be gone for, but hopefully it won't be more than a week." Raiko was about to say something, but Tenzin beat him to it.

"What kind of indications Korra?" The Avatar bit her lip.

"It's hard to explain without sounding like a lunatic." Tenzin offered her a kind smile that reassured her slightly before she continued. "Lately, it feels like the Moon Spirit has been calling me. It needs to tell me something, not that I know what it is."

"So the Triads have a spike in their activity and you run off to the Spirit World?" Raiko asked darkly.

"Don't you think I'd have the sense to take my wife and daughter with me if that were true?!" Korra shot back. "Councilman Tenzin, I hope you don't mind if Asami and Avani stay on Air Temple Island while I'm away? I just think it's safest."

"Of course."

"And what are we supposed to do in the mean time? The Avatar is supposed to protect the city!"

"The Avatar is supposed to protect the world!" Lin turned to Raiko angrily.

"Look, I'm not asking for a vote or anything, because the decision has already been made. I suggest you get Detective Mako onto sorting out the Triads. I'm sure he's up to the job. Chief Beifong, I'm sure he will want your help. President Raiko, this is your city, and I don't want to tell you how to run it, but if the Triads are such a problem, then hold some meetings with the police force to try and combat the problem. The people of Republic City have dealt with enough in the past few years, we need to get the Triads under control before innocent people start getting hurt." Raiko opened his mouth but Korra cut him off. "And another thing, stop wasting police time and making them patrol the spirit portal to stop people from going through. If people want to go to the Spirt World, then they should be able to freely." The President grunted in annoyance and folded his arms, frowning.

"Korra, are you sure this trip is a good idea? We really could use your help with the Triads."

"I have to go Chief. If the spirits need to tell me something, then I've got to listen."

"We had a Triad related murder hit this morning." Korra's mouth dropped open.

"Do you know what happened?"

"No. I've got the area cordoned off so I can look after we're finished here."

"Ok. Get your best people on it, bring Detective Mako up to speed and take him with you. President Raiko, discuss the situation we have with Chief Beifong while I'm away."

"Since when did you start running the Council?!" Korra pursed her lips for a second.

"Ok, everyone who agrees with the statements I just made, please raise your hand." Everyone but Raiko lifted a hand, including her daughter. Korra ruffled her hair in thanks. "Good well that's that sorted. Thank you everyone for coming. Now unless there is anything else we need to talk about, this meeting can be adjourned."

* * *

"Mummy, why does mama have to go away?" The little girl looked up at Asami with dark brown eyes and a sad look on her face. The two of them had been playing with some wooden pieces with matching sized holes while Korra packed. The inventor sighed tossed up the little wooden block in the air.

"You know your mama is very special. She's the Avatar."

"I know mummy."

"Yes darling, but that means that she is connected to the Spirit World. We'll take you there some day, when you're older. But the important part is that one of the spirits has been calling her, so mama has to go and talk to them."

"Can't the spirit come talk to her?"

"It doesn't work like that I'm afraid. I don't want mama to go either, but sometimes she has to go be the Avatar for a little while." Avani frowned as she pushed a cube shaped piece into its hole.

"How long will she be gone for?"

"I don't know. She promised a week at most, but it might be longer, we'll just have to wait and see. Time passes differently in the Spirit World." Avani hummed to herself in thought. "The real question, is how did you two get to the council meeting this morning?" The humming stopped immediately as he daughter froze. She looked up at her mummy's piercing green eyes, any lie that might have been dancing on the tip of her tongue melting away almost instantly.

"We flew." She said quietly, knowing that Korra wasn't going to be happy.

"Korra, get in here!" Asami called through the door. Her wife wandered in, holding a water skin.

"What's up?"

"I saw you flying to work today." _Shit._ "And Avani told me."

"Um…yeah…"

"I told you, no flying without me!"

"Look, we were going to be late because Avani wouldn't put on her dress and it was the fastest way there! I promise, she was completely strapped down, she was safe."

"She's four Korra, you can't just go flying with her like that!"

"She's not a baby anymore Asami, Avani was fine, weren't you baby girl?" Her daughter threw one of the wooden blocks at her.

"I'm not a baby mama! You just said so!" Korra dodged the block and sighed, backing down. The wooden piece hit the wall behind her and clattered to the floor.

"Look, Asami, I'm sorry I flew with Avani without you there. It was reckless, we could have just been late for the council meeting."

"Fine." Asami turned to their daughter. "And what have I told you about throwing?"

"Don't throw things at mama." Avani mumbled out, almost a perfect copy of Korra's face right then.

"Good. Now, do you think mama might need some help with her packing?" The little girl's eyes lit up as they flicked between her parents.

"Can you go fill this with water for me?" Korra asked, passing her the skin that her father had made for her 24th birthday.

"Ok mama!" Avani grabbed the skin in her arms, the receptacle being roughly the size of her torso making it awkward to carry, and ran off to the bathroom.

"One day, we're going to have to have a serious talk about Avani flying." The inventor stood up, brushing down her skirt. Korra pushed a hand through her short hair and sighed.

"It was the only way I could think of to get her to put that dress on. I can't just let her go to council meetings in her home clothes. I'm sorry Asami." The frown melted off her wife's face and was replaced by a broad smile.

"I don't really have a problem with you letting her fly with you, I just want to be there when it happens."

"Really?" Korra's face brightened up. Avani came toddling back in the heavy water skin slung over her back.

"I got your water mama!" The Avatar swept up her daughter in her arms and kissed her forehead.

"Good girl! What would I do without you?" The girl giggled as Asami pulled the water skin of her before she dropped it and ruffled her hair.

"Your mummy would be helping out."

"I can pack on my own Asami."

"You always forget something. Remember when we went to the Earth Kingdom and you didn't bring a toothbrush? You kept stealing mine."

"Fine, ok I'll pack what I think I need and then you and Avani can help me."

"Ok."

* * *

Korra shifted her packs around her shoulders as they headed towards the green light of the spirit portal.

"Are we there yet mummy?" Avani asked. Asami tilted her head up to her daughter who was perched on her shoulders.

"Nearly sweetie." The sun was starting the rise over the horizon in the distance, the faint orange glow edging over the tops of the buildings in the east side of town. They reached the outer perimeter of the crater to find a couple of police officers standing by the main entrance.

"Good morning gentlemen!" Korra called ahead, waving her hand.

"Avatar Korra?"

"I thought I told Raiko to remove the police from around here?"

"We've had no new orders."

"Ah ok. Well relay what I've said to Chief Beifong, see what she says."

"Ok. I'm afraid we can't allow any children past the barriers."

"Can you make an exception for me? I won't be long." Korra put on the face she used with Asami when she wanted something.

"Well our orders say…."

"You know I could easily just slip into the Avatar State and make you let me go through."

"Korra!" Asami snapped at her.

"Chillout, I'm not actually going to do anything. Come one guys, its six in the morning and we'll be five minutes max. No one is around."

"Fine ok, but be quick." They let the trio through and they trotted down the steps towards the bright column of light that spread up into the still dark sky. Avani looked up at the chains of colour that swirled through layers of green and yellow. Spirts flew lazily around the central light and popped up from between spirit vines as they noticed a shift in the energy around them.

"You made this mama?!"

"Yes I did baby girl."

"What happens when you go through?"

"There is this kind of flash of light and then you're in the Spirit World."

"Is that it?"

"Well…yeah." They were only a couple of metres away when Korra stopped. She turned back to her wife and daughter and smiled at them. Asami knew that smile well. It didn't quite reach her eyes and had a tinge of sadness behind it. She lifted Avani off her shoulders and settled her down onto the spirit vines beneath their feet. "Alright, say goodbye to mama." Korra knelt down and wrapped her arms around the girl.

"I'll see you soon sweetie." Korra said into her ear.

"Promise you'll come back?"

"I'm like a boomerang baby girl, I always come back."

"I'm not a baby anymore mama."

"I know. You're a big girl now. Big enough to look after mummy for me, ok?"

"I will mama."

"Good. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm away." Korra let her go and stood up as Asami stepped over. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

"Don't rush your trip. Find Yue, talk to her and say hello to Iroh if you see him too. And don't injure yourself."

"When do I ever injure myself?"

"You burnt yourself on the stove last week." Asami deadpanned back.

"Just come here." Korra grabbed her hand and pulled the inventor into a hug, holding her tightly. "Please keep yourselves safe." She muttered

"We will. Good luck, we'll see you when you get back."

"Ok." Korra moved slightly so she could press her lips gently against Asami's. Their daughter cringed and turned away until they were finished. "I'll be fine. It's just the Spirit World, what's the worst that could happen?"

"I'm not going answer that question. Now go. Find out what you need to know." Korra nodded.

"I love you. Both of you."

"Love you too Korra." The Avatar smiled again and turned away, giving them one last look before stepping into the green light and letting it envelop her. Asami held out her hand for Avani and small fingers wrapped around hers.

"Is mama going to be ok?"

"Of course she is, she's the Avatar. Now let's go home and get our things so we can go stay with uncle Tenzin."

"Ok mummy." Asami squeezed her hand and looked back at the bright green light of the spirit portal before and blinking a few times. _Everything is going to be fine. Korra will be fine._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Woop woop, new chapter guys! This is going surprisingly well, didn't think I would get this out this quickly. Hopefully I'll continue on this theme, but that might not happen, we'll see. Anyways, as always please enjoy, and read and review.**_

 _ **Miss Buch xxxx**_

* * *

 _Saw all of the saints,_

 _Lock up the gates._

 _I could not enter_

 _Walked into the flames._

 **Ghost Town, Adam Lambert**

* * *

A few seconds after stepping into the green light of the spirit portal, Korra found herself in an open field covered in violet flowers and surrounded by trees. They looked similar to the Tree of Time, but smaller, covered in twisting layers of bark and curled branches. A smile broke out on her face at the view, the edges of the cliffs in the distance being lit up by the bright light of the portal behind her. She set off at a good pace, but was stopped moments later by a small blue light slowly rising up from the thick grass that reached just above the ankles of her boots. Korra looked down and tilted her head to the side.

"Hey there little fella." The spirit lifted itself higher until it floated at eye level. The Avatar smiled gently at it while it scrutinised her face. The spirit was the colour of water when she was healing and had a pair of small black eyes just above the centre of its spherical body. "Do you want me to follow you?" The little spirit appeared to nod and turned away from Korra, floating quickly away from her and towards the tree line. She started to jog after it, going straight into the trees and weaving her way through them. The spirit moved faster and Korra picked up the pace, brushing vines out of the way and disturbing a few resting spirits. "Sorry!" She called out to them as she rushed past. Eventually she stumbled over a raised tree root and tumbled down, rolling out of the dense forest and finding herself in a dark clearing. It had been early morning in the real world only a few moments ago, but time passed differently in the spirit world so Korra had no idea what time it was now. It took her a moment to get accustomed to the darkness and the small amount of light that was emanating from the spirit disappeared as it melted away into the edge of the clearing.

"Wait, where have you taken me?!" The spirit continued to disappear and she sighed before giving it a quiet goodbye and thank you as she dropped her packs by the edge of the clearing. The trees were taller here, with several layers of leaves that blocked out most of the light, with only a hint passing through. The Avatar summoned a flame in her palm to illuminate the area and provide her with some warmth. She blinked a few times at the bright little flame before moving forward to the large pool of water that sat a few feet ahead of her. Korra turned back the trees, looking for the blue spirit. "Why did you take me here?" She called out.

"Because this is where I needed you to be." The Avatar shot back round as bright white light flowed through the pool and lit up the surround grass. She extinguished the flame in her had as a figure rose out of the water, glowing as it floated up. Korra shiedled her eyes at the harsh whiteness and it took a moment for her to filter out all the excess light and see what was in front of her.

"Yue?"

"Hello Avatar. You took your time." Korra tilted her head to the side.

"Well if I'm honest with you, I knew you were calling me but I couldn't work out what you wanted. I'm not that great with hints."

"I gathered." Yue said drily. "Now Korra, I have something I need to show you."

* * *

"You and Avani can sleep in here. There is a bathroom attached so you can have some privacy."

"Thank you Tenzin."

"The kitchen is open if you want lunch or something later."

"Ok." Tenzin gave the pair of them a nod and slipped out of the room with a flap of his robes.

"Mummy?"

"Yes darling?"

"Can I go play with Ikki?"

"Of course you can. Just don't wander off too far." Avani ran out of the room, leaving her mummy to unpack their bags. Asami left them in a corner and moved to the open window, leaning on the sill and looking out over the grounds outside. She saw the light of the spirit portal in the distance and her fingers ran absent mindedly over the design on the betrothal necklace that Korra had made for her a couple of years ago. The main piece was crystal that the Avatar had taken from the catacombs under Ba Sing Se, which had been picked especially because it matched the colour of her eyes, and Korra had spent months carving a design into it by hand. It depicted waves crashing over the edge of the Future Industries gear with tiny flames inside the centre to symbolise not only her Fire Nation heritage but her own fiery personality. She had never seen Korra more nervous in her life when she was gearing up to give her the pendant. The Avatar had been treading on eggshells with her for weeks and every time she confronted her about it all she got was weird little half-truths. Asami had been genuinely worried that Korra was going to break up with her until she was presented with the necklace.

" _Hey Asami, can I talk to you?" The inventor put down her book as Korra fidgeted on the spot in front of her._

" _Sure, what's up?" Asami tilted her head to the side, a slight frown on her face as the Avatar sat down next to her on the couch._

" _Um...jeez where do I start?" She muttered to herself._ Breathe. Relax. It's just Asami, your best friend _, she thought to herself. Her hand clenched around the flattened stone in her pocket. "Look, we…er we've been together for ages now, and I've been thinking about this for a long time. I wanted to show you how special you are to me and I know I haven't been completely honest with you lately, and I'm really sorry and-"_

" _Korra you're rambling." Asami cut in, raising an eyebrow at her._

" _Right." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Asami. I love you so much – I don't have enough words to express the way I feel. So I made something instead. Um…. I wanted to ask if… if you would marry me?" Korra pulled the necklace out of her pocket and held it out to Asami, whose mouth had dropped open. Her hands shook slightly as she took the pendant from her hands, running her fingers over the beautifully intricate design on the crystal and the soft cloth attached to it. Light reflected off the thin disk and danced over the waves that crashed onto the Future Industries gear. Korra watched her look up into her face, seeing tears sparkling in her eyes. On instinct she pulled Asami in for a hug._

" _Of course I will Korra. I love you too." A massive grin broke out on the Avatar's face as they broke apart._

" _Really?"_

" _If anything, I'm relieved, I thought you were going to break up with me." Asami chuckled as she wiped her eyes._

" _Oh god really? I'm sorry. Um, do you want me to put it on you?"_

" _Nothing would make me happier." Korra leaned over and took the pendant from Asami's hands. She reached up around her neck and clipped the little metal clasp together around the back. Asami swallowed, feeling the flat crystal against her throat._

" _You look beautiful." Korra said softly._

Asami broke out of her memories when Naga came by the window and licked her face. She and Avani had ridden the polarbear dog to Yue bay and then the three of them had taken the ferry over to the island.

"Hey girl." The inventor said quietly, rubbing her knuckles over the animal's head. Naga gave her an appreciative growl and then a quiet whine. "I know. We won't have to wait long. Korra will be back before we know it."

* * *

"Why have you been calling to me Yue?" The figure floated down to ground level in front of Korra, some of the layers of white light melting away so that the Avatar could see her better. Her hair and gown kind of floated ethereally around her, like she was perpetually suspended in water.

"Someone in your world is upsetting the balance in waterbending." Korra frowned.

"What have they been doing?"

"Let me show you." Yue reached out a put a hand on her shoulder. There was a flash of white light and then...

 _Suddenly Korra found herself in a room she didn't recognise. It was dark and she was strung from a rafter by her wrists. The rope cut into her skin and bruised her arms._

" _Where am I?" The words came out of her mouth but it wasn't being controlled by her – and it wasn't her voice_. Raiko? _A light flashed on and her vision went dark as eyelids shut to filter out the sudden harsh brightness. Eventually they opened again so see a face looming over._

" _That doesn't matter now."_

" _Who are you?"_

" _That doesn't matter. But you? You're the President of the United Republic – and in charge of this city. You thought you were untouchable didn't you? Well you were wrong." The man shifted his legs apart and raised his hands, fingers taught._ That's a waterbending stance, _Korra thought. Panic started to rise in Raiko's throat as he felt his body stiffen. Korra, as a waterbender, was suddenly very aware of all the liquid in his body moving towards his head. Skin started to shrink and fingers curled in on themselves. Pain filled his mind and Korra started to scream, not that she had a controllable body to scream out of._ Make it stop! Oh Spirits please make it stop! _The man's hands clenched as the pressure started to build, blood rushed through ears, and Korra actually felt Raiko's brain swelling like it was her own brain as her screams got louder. The sounds of the President's cries of pain mingled with her own as her head started to burn._ Stop! Yue! Please! _It hurts!_ _The pressure kept building and the burning wouldn't stop no matter how loud her screams grew. Raiko couldn't move, he was just stuck there as his fingers broke and his eyes bulged. His vision kept coming and going as Korra felt one of his shoulder joints pop out. The Avatar couldn't breathe as the blood increased in temperature and the flow to Raiko's heart slowed down._ No! Its all going to his brain. Spirits I can't make it stop! He can't die like this _. Korra could feel the blood pressure reaching boiling point, stopping her from forming words and just releasing a primal scream that felt like an explosion tearing through her._

The Avatar swayed on the spot, clutching her head as tears formed in her eyes. She dropped to her knees while Yue's light faded around her and the clearing dimmed slightly.

"What…the hell…was that?" She got out between gasping breaths.

"I just showed you the death of your President."

"Spirits what happened to him?" Korra managed to stand again on weak legs and closed her eyes, trying to get the images out of her mind. She could still feel the burning in her head and the intense pain wasn't ebbing way fast enough.

"Think Korra. Remember your waterbending." The Avatar rolled off her knees and sat cross-legged. She drew up some water from the skin at her hip and held it gently above her hand. "What can you do with water?" Korra rolled the water around in the air and sent it slowly spinning.

"Well I can move it. And turn it into ice. I can control ice and water and oh…no…another bloodbender?"

"Not just a bloodbender. You developed this skill a couple of years ago, maybe just because you are the Avatar you managed it first, that I don't know. But I need to go, I can feel my form fading. I've been gone long enough"

"Wait, Yue! I need more information!" Korra reached out to her with her spare hand.

"Use your mind Avatar. I have faith in you."

"Yue!" The white light faded and the clearing went dark again. Korra put the water away and replaced it with a flame again. _Damn._ She closed her eyes and tried to think.

* * *

"Asami, we need to get down to the council. Now." The inventor stood up from her daughter and frowned at Tenzin. It was two days after Korra had left and she had been spending her time playing with her daughter and having the odd phone call with Varrick. News had broken the day after Korra had left that Raiko had gone missing. His wife had no idea where he was and became worried when he didn't come home from work.

"Is it about Raiko?"

"Lin has called the council together immediately. She didn't say what is was about. Come on, we'll take Oogi." Asami knelt down in front of her daughter.

"I've got to go darling, but I'll be back soon, I promise. Why don't you go meditate with some of the airbenders?" Korra had been teaching Avani how to meditate for the past few months or so. Her daughter had been begging to learn something from the Avatar, and since she couldn't bend, her mama had taught her through stories about her adventures and mediation. Occasionally Asami would join in and meditate with them when she had time. She wasn't as spiritually advanced as her wife, but could still enjou the benefits of meditation - it helped to centre herself after long stressful days at work.

"Ok mummy."

"I've asked Pema to keep an eye on her."

"Thanks. Let's go." Tenzin picked up the bison whistle from around his neck and moments later Oogi appeared by the front door. Asami climbed onto the saddle and Tenzin appeared on the sky bison's neck after using his airbending to get up there. They shot up into the air and flew fast and low over the water that surrounded the island. Wind whipped through her hair as it streamed out behind her, the city getting closer and closer until they were weaving between buildings, Oogi using rooves and corners to push off and turn. They landed a moment later and jumped off the twelve tonne bison and ran into the council building. Tenzin pushed the doors open and allowed them both through, and they found the rest of the council already assembled around the curved table.

"Any news on President Raiko?" Tenzin asked as he and Asami sat down.

"That's why I called you all here." Lin stood up and paused for a moment. "Raiko has been murdered."

"What?!"

"By who?"

"How?" Lin waited patiently for everyone to settle down and the questions to stop.

"We don't know who did it. And we can't determine how he died, some parts of his body was sent to me in, uh….pieces." Asami's hands flew to her mouth.

"How do you know it was him?" The Fire Nation designate asked.

"Well, we…er…we don't have his head yet. You know that broach he wears? That got sent to me pinned through his left hand."

"Spirits!"

"We need to make a public announcement. And as the council we'll just have to manage without him until a new we can set up a new presidential election. Do you reckon we'll...er, get his head?" Tenzin asked.

"I don't know. I suggest we give it a couple of days before telling the public. We can set up a press release for three days from now. For now, don't breathe a word of this to anyone." The group nodded.

"I'm going back to the Fire Nation this evening, so I won't be available for the press release. There is some work that needs to be done in the colonies." The Fire Nation delegate said with a slight bow to the assembled group.

"Ok. Anyone else not going to be here for the press release?" There was a mixture of negatives from everyone. "Right, I'm going to get my best people on this. Try and get as much information as we can. If we get anything useful I'll let you know."

"Thank you Chief Beifong."

* * *

Korra was walking again. After having spent a few hours waterbending to help her think over what Yue had said to her she had eventually settled on an answer. Now she was heading back to the spirit portal through the woods, but she wasn't a hundred percent sure she was travelling in the right direction. Korra stopped and closed her eyes, placing her hand on the trunk of a tree. The Avatar breathed out slowly and felt the energy flowing through the plant. She focused, using the energy to find her route out of the woods. But her own search got diverted by something pulling her away from the spirit portal. Raava lit up inside her and Korra's eyes opened, the bright white shining out. _Raava? What's going on?_ **Come Korra, there is someone else that has missed you dearly.** The Spirit World started to move around her, trees and mountains flashed past, the sky changing colour as it shot by. Korra suddenly found herself sitting at a small circular wooden table with intricate carvings of lotus flowers in it. Opposite was an old man with a white beard and a broad smile on his face.

"Iroh!"

"Good afternoon Korra." He said with a slight nod of his head. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please."

"I have some seaweed jasmine you might enjoy." She waited for Iroh to pour her some tea and he passed her the cup, which she held eagerly between her hands. "You have been away from the Spirit World for a long time my dear."

"Yeah, sorry, things have been kind of busy lately. Asami and I have a daughter now, and with her running Future Industries and me being, well me, we've kind of had our hands full."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes. I mean, obviously she's not actually ours, we adopted her. It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is. You seem eager to be going somewhere." He raised an eyebrow at her. Korra sighed slightly and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry. Things have been a bit hectic in our world. The triads have been flaring up in Republic City – people have been fighting each other, and there are rumours that the Triads are planning on taking over the city. And to do that they would have to take out the most influential people in the city. I needed to leave Asami and Avani with Tenzin while I'm here, and I'm just worried they're in danger."

"Did you have a nice talk with Yue? She's been trying to reach you for a while now."

"I wouldn't use 'nice' to describe it." Korra sipped her tea. The taste reminded her of home, images of her mother brewing tea in their kitchen came to mind, and it made her smile without even realising. It helped to calm her after seeing what had happened to Raiko. Being stuck inside his mind while he was murdered had horrified her. She still had prettymuch worked out how it happened, and she planned on getting home as quickly as she could so that her wife or daughter didn't end up with same fate.

"Hm well sometimes we don't get given all the answers in life, you must solve your problems using the clues the universe has given you."

"Zuko hates it when you say stuff like that. I can understand why he got so frustrated with you when you two travelled together."

"Ah well, he was always a very impatient young man. He could never see the answers even if they were directly in front of him." Korra chuckled and drank some more of the tea as they lapsed into silence.

"I've missed the Spirit World." She said quietly. "Its so beautiful here."

"The Spirit World has missed you too Korra. However perhaps it has not been so long for us as time passes differently in your world." She conceded his point and gulped down her tea before standing up from her chair and picking up her packs.

"Iroh, I'm sorry, but I need to go. When my family are safe I'll come back here. And I'll bring Avani, she'd love to see this. But right now, I'm worried they need me, so I'm going to have to go home."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a while Korra?"

"I'm sure. I promise I'll be back soon Iroh, and thank you for your advice."

"Of course Korra. Any time you need my help, I will always be there." The Avatar bowed in thanks and stood up straight, given him a smile before she stepped away from the table. She focused and the Spirit World flew past her until she was suddenly in front of the bright green portal surrounded by the violet flowers and twisted trees again. _Right. Let's go home._


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ten points to me, I wrote a new chapter! Haha I like this one, Asami gets to do a bit more. Not much more to say apart from please read and review, and enjoy as always!_**

 ** _Miss Buch xxx_**

* * *

 _So struggle all you like,_

 _And put up the good fight._

 _They say someday everybody dies alone._

 **Roll the Bones, Shakey Graves**

* * *

 _I've been cooped up on the island for too long_ , Asami thought. It had been now nine days since Korra had left for the Spirit World, and the city had been running as smoothly as it could, considering that the Avatar was gone and the President had been assassinated. The public had been informed of Raiko's death a few days ago, and already there were people clamouring to take his place. The council were yet to pick the most suitable four, so that the United Republic could vote for the new president, and it had been decided it would be best to wait until Korra came back before they made any decisions. Asami, Pema and Avani had travelled into town on Oogi that morning to go to the market to get food for the temple since Avani had been practically crawling up the walls in boredom. She hadn't spent this long on Air Temple Island before and meditating and playing with her mummy or the other airbenders was great but getting a bit repetitive.

"How many Moon peaches do you think we'll need?" Pema asked Asami, who was currently scanning her eyes over some sea prunes that Korra would like.

"Well Avani eats them like candy, so as many as we can carry." Pema laughed and started talking to a vendor. Asami looked around them, her bright eyes wandering over people. Then she saw someone looking at her. The man held eye contact for a second and then looked back down at his newspaper. She turned slowly to the side, blinking a few times as she tried to read the situation. _Shit_. "Pema." She said quietly, tugging on the older woman's sleeve.

"Yes dear?"

"Take Avani and get yourselves out of here. Call Oogi and go. Get back to the temple where it's safe."

"What?!" Pema said, alarmed.

"Shhh. Just go. Try and get help if you can but just our friends. No civilians." Pema nodded, lifting up Avani and placing her on her hip. "I'll see you soon sweetie." Her daughter gave her a scared look as Pema picked up her basket and slipped between stalls, giving Avani the bison whistle to blow on. Asami put her hand in her pocket, feeling for the layers of metal and leather while she slowly continued meandering down the street, pretending to look at some seaweed that might go well with the prunes. She turned her head slightly to look to her right, seeing some people moving faster than others. The inventor headed on, attempting to lead whoever these people were away from the direction that her daughter was going in. _Think Asami – what have you got? Ground: solid. Space: limited. Structural integrity of stalls: unknown. So, don't break anything or injure any civilians_. Moving on instinct, she ducked down to avoid the stream of fire that burst from directly behind her and slammed her gloved hand into the stomach of the firebender. Electricity spread through him and he collapsed quickly. Shouts spread through the crowd as people and vendors abandoned their things and started to panic. _Well that's not ideal_ , Asami thought as she slipped between the legs of another man that had come running towards her with a machete in his hand. She knocked out his feet from beneath him and grabbed the blade, electricity running straight through the machete and into him. Launching a kick behind her, she threw her body weight into another, sending them straight into the concrete. Something smashed into her hand and the glove broke apart, pieces falling off it and onto the ground. Looking up, Asami saw that much of the crowd had left now, and she was faced with several opponents, all dressed differently, apart from the scarves they wore across their faces to hide their identities. _Focus – those two look like earthbenders, one of them must have broken your glove with a rock. The one of the right is probably a firebender judging by their stance, although their legs are a bit close together. What about those guys? I don't know. Nonbenders maybe? Why don't I find out?_ Asami rolled down to avoid another jet of fire and flicked out two small knives from her sleeves. She threw one of them out and it hit the firebender in the shoulder, removing the immediate danger from her. Both the unknowns jumped forward and Asami found herself fighting two people at once whilst trying to avoid the small stones that were being rapidly fired in her direction. She blocked a punch, twisted to the side and switched the hand that the small knife was in. She drew it around, slashing out behind her to at least mildly incapacitate the other fighter as she rotated her arm out of the grip it was locked in. A stone caught her in the side and she grunted in pain before jumping up, wrapping her legs around the neck of adversary in front of her and using all the strength she could muster to flip them over so that they crashed into the one behind her. All three of them landed in a heap with her on top, and she stood up, only to be hit with another rock in her arm. She cried out as she felt her shoulder joint pop out of place. Asami grabbed the useless arm with her free hand. _This is going to be close_. Suddenly a new jet of fire shot out from the left of the earthbenders.

"You look like you could do with some help!"

"Mako?!" The detective flipped off the top of a stall and landed with kick that sent flames flying at one of the earthbenders. The man attempted to shield himself with a block of earth, and Asami threw out of the other knife in his direction. It lodged into his stomach, and he screamed out as blood started to trickle from his abdomen. Mako ducked to avoid the projectile sent towards him from the other earthbender, and placed a hand on the man's arm and chest to flip him over his head and send him smashing into the concrete. Asami lashed out, her foot catching one of the nonbenders in the head, and they fell back into the other one with a thump and a muffled curse.

"Are you alright?" Mako asked, jogging over now that the immediate threats had been eliminated.

"It's just dislocated, I'll be fine."

"Good." He grabbed one of the firebenders by the hair and tore off the scarves the man was wearing over his face. "Who are you?" The man spat some blood onto the ground and glared up at Mako.

"Like I'd tell you!" The detective threw him back onto the ground and unclipped his radio from his belt.

"I need back up and a removal team in the north west quadrant of the market ASAP. And someone with a med kit."

"Roger that." Came through the small speaker.

"Can you radio Air Temple Island, I need to know Avani is ok." Mako did as he was told, switching frequencies.

"Hey Tenzin, are you there?" A few moments later, a voice crackled through the speaker.

"We've got your daughter Miss Sato."

"Let her go!" Asami shouted. Fresh panic started to rise in her throat as she spoke. "I swear, if you hurt her you're going to have a world of pain coming to you!"

"If you w-" The person's voice was cut off by a rush of static and a crashing sound. The pair of them listened closely to the sounds coming through the radio, trying to work out what was going on.

"I'm sorry about that Asami, that man thought he could just invade my home without any repercussions." Relief flooded through her as she heard Tenzin speak. He sounded surprisingly casual, considering that he had just sent the man flying through a wall.

"Is Avani there? Is she alright?!"

"She's fine, Jinora and Kai are looking after her. What happened?"

"Some people attacked me at the market. I got Pema and Avani to leave on Oogi while I stayed back to distract them."

"We need to get you to a hospital." Mako cut through.

"I'm fine, I told you it's just dislocated."

"You know you're bleeding right?"

"What?!" Tenzin came through on the speaker. Asami looked down to see blood gently trickling out of a gash in her side where one of the stones had cut through the thin fabric of her clothes and through her skin. She pressed a hand against the wound, which made it hurt more, but at least helped reduce some of the bleeding. Mako frowned as a grimace crossed her face. "Mako, take Asami to the hospital. I'll bring this man to the police station so you can arrest him."

* * *

Korra had a small smile on her face as she walked away from the spirit portal, she was excited to see her family again. On the other hand, there was still that impending threat of chaos consuming the city, but right now things seemed ok for her. There were still policemen at the top of the steps and she tapped one the shoulder when she got to the top.

"Avatar Korra! You're back!"

"Well observed. How long have I been away?"

"Nine days. Your wife is at the hospital." The smile immediately disappeared from her face, replaced by a worried look.

"What? Why?!"

"The triads attacked today. They g-"

"Thanks, I've got to go." Korra slammed her staff into the ground so that the glider wings flashed out, and she used a gush of wind to get into the air before shooting forward, heading west to go to the hospital. She felt tears slip across her face as buildings rushed past her, and she focused on trying to speed up as she twisted her body to turn a corner. Soon she landed at the doors to the hospital and spun her staff back into its place across her back. The Avatar ran in and went straight down the first corridor she could see. "Where the… hell is my wife?!" She shouted angrily between breaths after looking into several rooms. A slightly terrified nurse pointed to her left to another turning. Korra almost fell down the hall in her haste and burst into the room at the end. "Asami?!"

"Korra?" The inventor sat up in bed, grunting slightly at the pain in her side.

"Are you ok? What happened? Where's Avani?"

"Calm down Korra." She said quietly. "And please shut the door, there are ears everywhere." The Avatar took a deep breath, trying to suck down the ball of emotion that had risen in her throat as she pushed the door shut.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"No. To answer your questions, I'm fine, only slightly injured. Some people (I think they were Triads) attacked me at the market today. Avani is fine, she's back on Air Temple Island with Jinora and Kai while Tenzin is at the police station. When I noticed we were being followed I sent Pema and Avani back to the temple while I stayed back to sort them out. According to Tenzin, one of them went to the temple and tried to grab Avani, but he stopped him."

"Spirits I was so worried." Korra pushed some hair out of her face. "Let me take a look at you."

"I'm fine Korra."

"Don't be ridiculous." Korra put her packs down and left her staff in the corner. Stepping over, she stroked Asami's face briefly and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I missed you." She said quietly, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.

"Missed you too."

"Where are you hurt?"

"My shoulder got dislocated and the doctor re-set it, and there was a cut in my side, and they've sewn it up. The doctors said it would take weeks to heal on its own."

"Not when your wife is the Avatar. I'll have you up and about it a few minutes." Korra pulled some water out of the skin on her hip and wrapped it around her hands. Asami pulled down the blanket to let Korra get to the wound, and she gently placed her hands over it. Letting out a slow breath, she spread the water across the inside of the cut, feeling for the very edges of the injury and starting to heal it from the inside outwards. Asami hissed slightly when the water started to glow.

"Sorry." Korra said, still focusing on the wound. "It'll pass in a second."

"I was worried something like this would happen if we left the temple. It's my fault we got attacked." Asami rubbed her forehead tiredly. "We should have just stayed on the island, but Avani was becoming a nightmare with all that pent up energy. I though taking her into town for a couple of hours would be fine. I mean, I brought weapons with me, but that was only for an emergency."

"And there was an emergency, so I'm glad you were prepared."

"My glove got broken during the fight, it's a good thing I had knives too."

"When did you start carrying knives with you?" She asked.

"A few months ago. I mean, I've been good at throwing them for years. Sometimes my gloves malfunction or get broken, I needed back up weapons." Korra didn't say anything to this, just finished up the cut on her side and moved the water to Asami's shoulder. She waited patiently for her wife to finish, closing her eyes for a minute as any pain she had had subsided.

"There, all done." Korra said, flicking the water back into her skin. "Let's go see our daughter."

* * *

The trip to Air Temple Island had been quiet. Asami had napped on the ferry, and Korra had sat next to her, absent mindedly stroking her fingers through the inventor's hair and staring out over the water while she contemplated what she had learnt in the Spirit World. The evening was setting it, the sky slowly getting darker as they travelled towards the temple. Instead of waking her up when they got the island, Korra took the pelts off her waist and wrapped them around Asami to keep her warm before lifting her up and carrying her off the ferry and into the temple. She found Pema, who she shushed quickly and took her wife to the room she had been sleeping in for the past week and a half. Once she was tucked up in bed, Korra gave her a little kiss on the cheek and left her to sleep. When she had shut the door, she found Pema waiting for her with a cup of tea.

"Thanks. Where's Avani?"

"She's with Kai and Jinora. They're on the meditation deck." Korra wandered out of the temple, finding her daughter being flung into the air by Kai and being caught by Jinora, which made her laugh incessantly. He put her down as soon as he saw the Avatar. Avani looked around and her eyes lit up.

"Mama!" She ran over to Korra, who scooped her up with one arm and held her close while her other hand held her tea steady.

"Hey baby girl! I missed you."

"I missed you too mama."

"Thanks for looking after her guys."

"It's no problem." Jinora said. "She's been a delight today."

"Were you good for Auntie Jinora?" Korra asked sternly.

"Yes mama."

"Was she?" The Avatar asked the pair of them.

"Yeah she was great. No tantrums, not especially messy, only threw something at me once, so pretty good." Kai said with a chuckle.

"What has mummy told you about throwing things Avani?" The little girl looked sheepishly at her. Korra sighed. "You've had a rough day sweetie, it's alright."

"Where's mummy?"

"She's sleeping. And I think you should too little one, it's getting late."

"But I want to play with Auntie Jinora." The airbender came over and ruffled the girl's hair.

"I think we've had enough playing for one day. Uncle Kai will take you to bed." The young man lifted Avani out of Korra's grip and settled her on his hip.

"Goodnight sweetie. Don't let the bed bugs bite." Korra said quietly, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll come to bed soon."

"Nigh night mama." Kai gave her a nod and went back inside.

"How are you doing?" Asked Jinora, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Korra said, sipping her tea. "I'm just glad Asami and Avani are ok."

"Did you learn anything useful in the Spirit World?" Korra shrugged, heading over to the edge of the meditation deck and leaning on the side. She looked out into the dark water that reflected the stars that dotted the night sky.

"Yeah I suppose."

"I take it you don't want to talk about it." Korra's normally bright eyes came into view, now dark as they flashed at Jinora briefly.

"There's a lot that needs to be done." She said quietly. "And I don't know how I'm going to do it and keep my family safe."

"You know I don't mind looking after Avani."

"I know. But Air Temple Island isn't safe anymore. Someone came here and almost took my daughter away."

"I'm sorry. I was actually looking for you in the Spirit World when it happened. Kai was teaching some of the airbenders with Tenzin. I took my eyes of Avani and as per usual she ran off to go play somewhere else." While she was talking Naga came around the corner, having smelt Korra in the wind and licked the Avatar's arm. She scratched behind the animal's ear and gave her a growl to say hello before looking back at Jinora.

"It's ok. It's not your fault. Nowhere is safe anymore, there isn't anything we can do about it. The best we can do it just keep an eye on the people we love." Korra drank some more of her tea. "How is the wedding planning going anyway?" She asked, changing the subject. Jinora chuckled.

"Slowly. I think we picked the date too soon, I need more time to get everything together. And Kai is lovely, but he has no concept of how weddings work, so he hasn't been particular useful lately. He's taken over a lot of my teaching duties to give me more time to work on the wedding."

"Let me know if you need any help."

"You've got enough to worry about as it is. Focus on trying to shut down the Triads." Korra rubbed her head tiredly, pushing a hand through her short hair.

"Hmph. That's the plan."

"Did going to the Spirit World help?"

"Slightly. I've got a bit more to go on than I did before. But I'm worried I'm going to have to do something I swore I'd never do."

"Whatever it is, I hope you don't have to do it."

"Me too Jinora. Me too."

* * *

"Korra, there's something wrong, and you're not telling me." The Avatar averted her eyes and looked into her lap. "What did you find out in the Spirit World?" Korra sighed. It was the day after she had gotten back and after finishing her tea the night before, she had slept heavily into the next day. Asami had woken first and held Korra and Avani close until they woke up. Later, she and her wife had discussed what had happened to Raiko with Tenzin. Korra had lied about her knowledge of Raiko's death, but Asami had seen through this very quickly. She hadn't said anything at the time – if her wife didn't want to say anything to Tenzin then she could just question her later.

"Watch this." Korra raised her hand, palm facing outwards and spread her fingers apart. Her eyes focused as she slowly pulled her hand away, tiny droplets of water being drawn out of the air towards her. The droplets started to come together, forming a sphere and she rotated her hand so that the ball floated just above the palm. "There's water everywhere. It's in the air, in plants, even in you and me. And waterbenders have access to it, as long as it's there. Sometimes it's harder to get to and use depending on where it is, like the water in the human body. Yue showed me something that I hadn't really thought about before. You know I can change its state." Her fingers flexed and the ball turned into solid ice without it moving. "I can turn it into snow and ice and move it however I want. You know sometimes you see me heating my tea when it gets cold?"

"Yeah?"

"That's not firebending. A few years ago, I was thinking about heating water. I mean, I could already heat it from ice back to normal temperature, and I could already manipulate steam. It took me a while to figure out how to do it, but I was eventually able to being able to warm it further. You can heat it right up. But there is someone out there who is taking the water inside people and changing its state. Boiling it and killing them." Korra's hand flexed again and the water turned to steam and dissipated into the air a second later. "That's how Raiko died. Yue, she…she showed me."

"How?"

"I don't know. Like she put me inside his head. Oh god, it was horrible Asami." The inventor wrapped her arms around her. "As soon as I knew what had happened I came back here. I was terrified that something was going to happen to you or Avani."

"Sshhh sweetheart. Avani and I will be fine. I know you will do everything you can to protect us."

"I was right though – you got attacked at the market and someone nearly took Avani away. If I had been there I could have helped, and you wouldn't have ended up in hospital. Yue told me I have to stop him. If I don't he's going to keep killing people. And since I might be the only one strong enough to counteract his own bending, he's most likely to come after the people I care about the most first. I can't let that happen to you. He's a bloodbender Asami – he moves as much blood as he can to the brain and then boils it. I felt everything Raiko was going through, I never thought it was stop! The pressure just kept b-building…and building and I couldn't d-do anything!" Korra's voice started to break as tears welled in her eyes. "Why do you think this guy hasn't sent Beifong his head yet?! It's because it exploded!"

"Spirits!" Asami whispered, closing her eyes, trying not to imagine any of this. The Avatar wiped her eyes, gritting her teeth.

"He'll be coming for us next. And I'm worried I won't be able to stop him."

"You will Korra. You'll find a way; you always find a way." Her wife didn't look at her, just stared at her clenched hands in her lap. She could see the silver band on the ring finger of her left hand. It stood out against her dark skin and she twisted it around her finger anxiously. A small piece of metal that represented the bond between the pair of them. Something unbendable. She looked up into the bright green eyes of the woman she loved, knowing full well that she would move mountains and freeze oceans for her and their daughter. _Maybe I will find a way. But at what a cost?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I finally wrote another chapter! Yay! Wow I need to get my life together...Anyways, you know the drill, read, review, enjoy etc!**_

 _ **Miss Buch xxx**_

* * *

 _Well if we take all these things and we bury them fast_

 _And we'll pray that they turn into seeds, to roots and then grass_

 _It'd be alright, its alright_

 _It'd be easier that way._

 **Daisy, Brand New**

* * *

A few days later, Avani found herself wandering aimlessly around the kitchen in search of food. After Korra's trip to the Spirit World, all of them had gone back home, attempting to settle back into 'normal' life, or however normal they could get with things in their current state. Avani's bright eyes spied a moon peaches over on the other side of the room and she pulled a chair to the counter so she could get one out of the bowl. She climbed carefully onto the seat of the chair and pushed herself up onto the counter so she could grab the piece of fruit. As Avani was biting into the moon peach, Asami walked in.

"Hey sweetie. Sorry I couldn't play, I had to take a phone call." The little girl nodded as her mummy moved the chair back to the table and sat up on the counter with her, picking out an apple from the bowl for herself. Her daughter bit her lip, looking thoughtfully at the yellow interior of the peach and then up at Asami.

"Mummy?"

"Yes Avani?"

"Why don't I look like you or mama?" Asami had been waiting for this question. As soon as Avani had been able to tell that her own reflection was her, she knew that the inquisitive little girl was going to ask why she wasn't the same complexion as Korra or didn't share either of their eye colours. Avani had straight brown hair that reached her shoulders, with chocolaty eyes and a round face. She looked nothing like Asami and Korra, and so they both knew that when they eventually came round to answering this question, they couldn't lie.

"Because you don't come from us darling." Avani looked down at her peach, frowning.

"Where do I come from then?"

"Your mama and I love each other very much, but we can't have children on our own. I don't know if there is some kind of spirit magic that could make it happen, but only a man and a woman can have a child. We did want children for a while, but with the pair of us having such busy lives we weren't sure about it. And then we found you. Well, I say found…" Asami paused for a second, thinking carefully about what she was going to say. "I remember the day I met you. A fire broke out down the block from my warehouse. I don't know what started it, but it was a big fire. I went out to try and help and a man came out of the house holding you. He had wrapped you up in all these blankets, I didn't think you were any more than 6 months old at the time. And he just placed you in my arms and said 'look after her'. Then he ran back in looking for his wife. But the fire was so big, and the house collapsed on them. I had called the fire department already and they came as quickly as they could, but they weren't fast enough. They died in the fire." Asami took a deep breath and pulled Avani into her lap, settling her chin on top of the small girl's head. "I took you to the hospital after that. There was some damage to your lungs from the smoke but luckily you weren't burned. Your mama eventually turned up and found us. She put her hand out to touch your face, but before she got there you grabbed hold of her little finger as tightly as you could. Then Korra looked at me and just said 'can we keep her?'."

"What happened next?"

"Well I stayed with you in the hospital while Korra went to City Hall to find out your name and your date of birth. And sorted out the adoption papers for you. It was a bit of an impulse decision on our part, we didn't really discuss any of it, but I've never regretted it. So yes darling, you might not come from your mama and I, but we love you just as much as if you did. Having you in my life made me realise that even though you aren't my flesh and blood, you are still my daughter. And Korra and I will always look after you."

"Even when bad men come, like on Air Temple Island?" Asami kissed the top of her head.

"Especially when bad men come. We would do anything to protect you." Avani turned around in her mummy's lap so she could look at her face. The little girl put down her moon peach and pulled Asami's cardigan, gesturing that she wanted a hug. The inventor wrapped her arms around her daughter, discarding her apple. "I love you baby girl."

"I'm not a baby mummy." Avani mumbled into her shirt.

"Unfortunately for you, that is how your mama and I see you. A baby who just escaped a fire and who will always be ours." Around the corner, Korra wiped a couple of tears away from her face. She had come home early, and had snuck in as quietly as possible with some flowers for her wife. But when she heard Asami talking, she had stopped to listen. The Avatar looked down at the silver band around her ring finger on her left hand before stepping into the kitchen pushing a smile onto her face.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Asami looked up in surprise.

"Korra! I wasn't expecting you to be back for a couple of hours."

"I finished early. And I bought you some flowers." She said with a shrug, holding out a bouquet of panda lilies that were tied together with some blue ribbon.

"Mama!"

"Hey there little one!" Asami took the flowers from her wife so she could pick up their daughter, placing her on her hip.

"Mummy told me that I'm not yours." Korra bounced Avani on her hip a little, a small smile crossing her lips.

"Of course you are mine sweetie! And you're your mummy's too. You are always going to be ours."

"But I don't come from you."

"That doesn't matter." Asami came over and put her arms around the pair of them. "We love you just as much as your real parents. Even though they aren't with us anymore, we will always be there for you."

* * *

"Have you got anything useful for us Korra? The city is on the brink of falling apart with Raiko gone."

"I'm sorry I haven't told you about this yet, it's been a bit difficult to process." Asami reached for her hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. They were in a council meeting, the first one since Korra had come back. "I've got this." She pulled out a piece of paper on which she had sketched an image of the man she had seen in her vision with Yue. Asami passed it to the Fire Nation delegate, and the picture was spread around the table.

"Who is this?" Lin asked.

"That is the man that killed Raiko."

"How on earth do you know that?" Tenzin frowned at her.

"I went to the Spirit World, and Yue showed me a vision of what happened to Raiko. She put me inside his head or something. I couldn't see his face that well, it was mostly in shadow, so I've drawn the best I could. He's a bloodbender and he's either working for the Triads, or he's in charge of the Triads. The reason you haven't got Raiko's head yet is…is because this man made it explode." There was a mixture of gasps and curses from around the table.

"How?"

"I think he moves all the blood to the brain and boils it."

"That's awful." The Earth Kingdom designate rubbed his forehead.

"I didn't know waterbenders could do that."

"Well we can work with steam, it was only a matter of time before people other than me discovered they could heat it to more than room temperature."

"So what does that mean for us?"

"Everyone in this room is going to need extra protection for a while. I don't know how we're going to arrange that. And I don't know what this guy wants either. I assume the Triads are planning on taking over the city. And to do that, they'll have to remove the leaders of the city. And that's all of us."

"What have we got on the new options for president?" Asami asked.

"We've got four running right now. There's Zimya, the youngest, lived in the city her entire life, has plans for building new schools and improving the education system. Ren, who, I hope we'll all agree is a fearmongering ass, wants remove half our medical research safeguards and cut off our trade with the Water Tribes because apparently they don't have anything useful to offer. He wants a more 'independent' Republic of United Nations." Korra raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Who else?"

"Well the other two are both people that moved here from the Fire Nation a few years back. One wants to introduce more schools for bending around the city and the other doesn't really have any good ideas, but he's a smooth talker, and people seem to like him."

"Hm, ok. How long before it would be acceptable to arrange a new election?"

"Well Raiko's funeral is in a couple of days, so maybe a two weeks from then."

"What about extra protection?" Asked the Earth Kingdom designate, circling back to their earlier point.

"Well we've got two options here. One: we all stick together until we find this guy or two: extra police go undercover, tailing us and protecting our homes."

"We can't all stay together; it will be easier for them to get us all in one go." Tenzin said. "The second option sounds reasonable, and perhaps those that don't live in the City full time should go back home for a while."

"Hang on, I don't want to be shadowed by police all the time." Asami interjected. "We'll never have any privacy."

"Normally I would agree with Asami, but in the interests of our safety, I think it's our best option." Lin said. "If this man is as strong as Korra says, none of us are safe. I mean, the Triads managed to get onto Air Temple Island and nearly take away your daughter. They got Raiko, and now some bloodbending maniac has killed him. Next it will be the police centre, or Korra, or your office. We are going to need to protection."

"Ok."

"I've got my best men on the Triads case. The sooner we can shut them down, the better."

"Have we got any news on that front?"

"I've hear rumours of explosives being smuggled into the city, but nothing concrete yet. I'll keep you updated." The room went quiet as everyone mulled this over.

"I'll go back to Ba Sing Se then." The Earth Kingdom designate said, breaking the silence.

"I'd better head off to the Fire Nation too."

"Alright. If we hear anything new, we'll send hawks. Radio is too easily intercepted to be safe."

"Right then. I suggest we all get back to work." Lin said seriously. "And everyone, watch your backs."

* * *

"Why are there p'licemen outside the house mama?" Korra picked up her daughter and placed her on her hip, jigging her up and down a little. Naga had poked her head around a door, and finding that her favourite person was in, had settled in the corner. The Avatar came over a stroked the animal's head softly, and she made a contented noise in thanks.

"They're here to protect us." Asami had gone to bed already, a long and arduous day at work had left her drained, and after her wife had made her a cup of tea, she had retired straight to their bedroom to catch some well-deserved sleep.

"But you're the Avatar! We don't need protection mama!" Korra chuckled at her daughter.

"I know that baby girl, and if anyone comes here, I'll water whip them straight out the window. But just in case something happens to me, the men outside will try to stop anyone from coming in."

"Is something going to happen to you mama?" Korra looked into Avani's eyes and then kissed her forehead, holding her daughter close to her.

"No, of course not baby girl." The smile that she had had on her face dropped away, and the Avatar bit her lip. "Come on, let's get you to bed. I've got to go look after mummy."

"What's wrong with mummy?" Avani's features switched to worried and Korra tapped her small nose with her index finger.

"Nothing bad little one. She's just had a long day, and work has been difficult, so I'm going to make her some food because she hasn't eaten any dinner yet."

"Can't you water whip mummy's work out the window?"

"I'm afraid not sweetie."

"Can I help you cook?" Korra looked at the clock. It was 7:30.

"Ok. But after that, you've got to have a wash, and then bed, alright?"

"Yes mama!"

"Good girl." The Avatar ruffled her hair and put her daughter down. "Are you hungry Naga?" Korra asked. The polarbear dog growled an affirmative at her. "Avani, go into the pantry and get some of the dried meat out and put some water in a bowl for Naga." The little girl nodded at her, while Korra pulled some vegetables and noodles out so she could make some soup for her wife. She started to chop the vegetables carefully while she waited for the water to boil on the stove, adding some vegetable stock to it as well. When she turned around, she found Naga licking her daughter's face in thanks for the food. It didn't take long for the water to boil, and Korra added the vegetables and noodles to it and put a lid over the top.

"You making cooking look so easy mama."

"It easy once you know how." Korra picked up Avani again and perched her on the edge of the counter. "My mum taught me, and I'll teach you, and maybe one day, you'll teach your own children."

"You really think I could cook one day?"

"Of course I do darling! You're learning from me, and I'm the best aren't I?" Avani frowned in thought.

"Auntie Pema makes fruit tarts. You don't make fruit tarts." Korra put a mock hurt look on her face.

"I grew up in the Southern Water Tribe – we don't have desserts or fruit."

"What do you have?"

"Meat from the animals we hunt, and seaweed and fish."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah." Korra shrugged, turning away to stir the pot briefly and adding a few herbs. "You know a polarbear dog like Naga would have fed our village for ages? They aren't normally domesticated, she and I just seemed to click though." The animal looked up at her and whined slightly, and Korra gave her a growl back in response. "Gramps freaked out when I came home with her."

"Do you speak po-polarbear dog?" Avani was still young, and some words confused her, so she was struggling to get her mouth around 'polarbear dog'. Korra chuckled and went back to the pot.

"I suppose I do."

"What about bison? Uncle Tenzin can speak to them."

"No I don't think I can speak bison."

"What about Pabu? Uncle Bo and Pabu are best friends."

"I don't think either of us can speak to all fire ferrets, I think it's just Pabu. He's a smart little thing." Avani didn't say anything to this, just hummed to herself. Korra reached into a cupboard to her left and pulled out a bowl and a tray. She turned off the stove and poured some of the soup into the bowl. Her daughter plucked a pair of chopsticks out of a drawer near her feet and passed them to her. "Right little one, I'm going to take this to mummy, I want you to have a bath. Naga?" The polarbear dog's ears pricked up at the sound of her name and she looked at Korra. "Make sure Avani has a bath. Ok?" Naga seemed to nod at her. Avani was then lifted off the counter and put on the floor by her mama. "Be good. I want you out the bath and in bed in half an hour at the latest."

"Yes mama." Her daughter trotted over to Naga, who nuzzled her face briefly before she wandered out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom. Korra filled a glass with water and carried both that and the tray to her bedroom.

"Asami?" She said quietly. There was still some light coming through the window, and the sun hadn't quite set yet, so she could see the pink and orange tinges in the sky. Some of it had spilled across their bed, where she found her wife, still in her clothes from work, snoring softly. Half her jet black hair seemed to have fallen into her face, obscuring her rounded features, and Korra put down the glass of water and settled herself down on the edge of the bed, stroking some of the hair away from her face. "Asami? Wake up my love." There was a low groan and a mumble of confused words and the Avatar stroked her face before leaning over to kiss her cheek. This seemed to do the trick, and Asami woke up slowly, blinking blearily a few times and roughly pushing some hair away from her eyes. "Hey 'Sami. I brought you some dinner." Asami frowned, licking her dry lips.

"Thank you." The inventor slowly wriggled herself upright so that she could take the tray off Korra and put it on her lap.

"It's just vegetable and noodle soup, but I thought you could do with some food since you skipped lunch today."

"How do you know I skipped lunch?"

"Mako told me." Asami grunted and shrugged at her.

"How does he know?"

"He said he came to visit you at work, just to see if you were ok after what happened at the market. Your secretary filled him in on how you were doing today."

"I had to extend the meeting I was in, and eventually I ended up running from one to the other. So yeah I skipped lunch." Korra didn't say anything to this, just shifted herself around so that she was behind her wife and grabbed a hairbrush.

"Is everything alright at work?" Asami slurped up the noodles in a rather unladylike manner before she answered.

"Its fine. Busy as usual. I'm not enjoying being tailed by the police all the time. Everyone that comes into the building has to provide ID and is searched before they come in, and its slowing everything down." Korra started to brush the tangles out of her wife's hair, bringing it away from her face. "I'm trying to get in some Earth Kingdom investors for the new range of Satomobiles. I designed them to be able to drive on sand and grass as well as the road. The tires have a different type of grip structure on them."

"That's good." The Avatar started to separate out pieces of hair to form a braid. She easily crossed the pieces over between her fingers, having be taught how to plait hair many years ago by her mother.

"How are things with the Triads?"

"Still tense. They aren't cooperating with the police. All the people that attacked you at the market and got to Air Temple Island aren't cracking under questioning, even with Beifong on it. Mako has been doing what detective work he can, but he's been coming up with dead ends so far. And we've got Raiko's funeral tomorrow." Asami chewed thoughtfully on a carrot as Korra rolled the end of the braid around itself at the base of her neck and secured it with one of her red hair ties. The Avatar leaned over, leaving a small trail of kisses down the side of her neck before resting her chin on her wife's shoulder. "I can't see a light at the end of the tunnel right now." Asami moved the tray, putting it on the bedside table. She leaned back against Korra, kissing her cheek.

"I know. But eventually we will."

"I'm glad one of us is optimistic."

"I'm not really, just rational. This will sort itself out, one way or another. Plus, with you around, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Aw come on 'Sami! You've jinxed it now. Knowing our luck, a giant evil spirit fused with my uncle is going to try and kill us. Oh wait, did that happen already?" Korra trailed off before Asami nudged her playfully.

"Don't be silly, that's not going happen again."

"I know; I don't have any more uncles." The inventor nudged her again, and Korra wrapped her arms around her, pulling both of them onto the bed and rolling over, making Asami start to giggle. Eventually they found themselves with Korra hovering over her, a grin on her face. Her wife reached up, and brushed a few brown strands of hair away from the Avatar's face.

"You're terrible, you know that?"

"I think you'll find the word you're looking for is delightful."

"No, I'm pretty sure terrible was right." Korra put a sad look on her face. "But you made me soup, so I'll get over it."

"Fine whatever." She huffed. Asami smiled and leaned up, gently pressing her lips against Korra's. Her response was quick, increasing the pressure slightly and moving herself closer. The sound of a Naga barking broke them apart. Avani must have finished her bath. The Avatar quirked an eyebrow at her wife. "Kiss me like that again, and you'll be getting more than soup tonight."

"Shush! We can't let Avani hear you talking like that." Korra grinned and kissed her nose before rolling off the bed.

"I'll get Avani to bed. You finish eating. I'll be back in a bit." Asami watched as she walked out of the room, still smiling to herself. _I love you. You beautiful crazy thing_.

* * *

The day of Raiko's funeral was a cold one. Wind had set in from the north, and brought with it a chill that swirled around the buildings of Republic City. The funeral had been difficult for everyone, and Korra had found that she couldn't bring herself to look at Buttercup Raiko during the ceremony, knowing exactly what her husband gone through. She had her family were dressed formally, as was everyone – Lin her police uniform, Tenzin and his family in their Air Nomad robes, the rest of the council wearing the colours that represented their respective nations. A few other people had come along too – Su was there, as was Varrick, and the ex-Fire Ferret brothers. Tenzin had officiated, said a few words about Raiko being a force of good for the city and the things he had done over the past few years. By the end, a couple of people other than Raiko's wife were in tears and they had all wondered off to the reception being held nearby. The roads around the graveyard and reception hall had been blocked off to the public by the police, with the event being such a big target for a potential Triad attack.

"Mak-Mak?" The detective looked down to see Avani pulling on the knee of his trousers to get his attention. He put down the coffee he had been drinking and knelt down in front of her so they were at eye level.

"Hey there little one."

"Have you see my mummy?" Mako stood up and looked around, scanning the group for Asami. He saw Korra in her dark blue and purple robes talking to Jinora, but her wife was nowhere to be seen.

"No I haven't. Come on, let's go look for her." He held out a hand for Avani, and she trotted alongside him as they went back outside. The pair of them headed through the graveyard, until Mako spotted a figure standing under the large willow tree. He picked up Avani and put her on his shoulders, holding onto her legs so that she didn't fall off. "I think she's over there. Hold on tight." Avani did as she was told, putting her hands in his hair to keep her balance as he walked over to the willow tree, finding that it was indeed Asami that was standing under it.

"Mummy? Mummy why are you crying?" The inventor jumped, not having noticed the pair of them come over. She wiped away her tears quickly and took her daughter off Mako's shoulders and placed her on her hip.

"I'm fine darling."

"You're lying." Avani said, frowning at her. "And you told me not to tell lies." Asami let out a hollow chuckle. It sounded forced and scraped around the inside of her throat.

"Yes I did, you've got me there." She sighed. "My daddy died a few years ago. This is where is he is now." Avani looked down at the grave where her mummy had placed a small bunch of flowers. "He was a good man who did some bad things to protect the people he loved." Her daughters' small hand moved to the inventor's face, gently wiping away a tear that had spilled from her right eye. Mako stepped over and rubbed Asami's back, trying to provide some comfort.

"How did he die?" The little girl asked quietly, and her mummy pulled her closer to her chest, holding her tight.

"Do you remember the story about mama and me and all our friends saving Republic City?" Avani nodded into Asami's black jacket. "And I made those hummingbird flying suits? My daddy thought it would be a good idea to attach a special saw to them so we could cut through platinum. Well they needed two people to fly one of them. We had two suits ready to fly by the time the city was in danger – Uncle Varrick and Ju Li flew in one, and my daddy and I flew the other. We needed to land on the big metal machine and cut a hole in it so that mama and our friends could break it from the inside. But the machine was so fast and kept knocking us off. My daddy and I finally got a chance but it takes time for the saw to cut through the metal. I remember this huge metal hand coming down to squash us and we were so close to cutting through and… and he ejected me from the suit. He saved my life and managed to finish cutting into the machine, but he lost his life in the process." Asami bit her lip and kissed the top of her daughter's head.

"Do you miss him mummy?"

"Sometimes darling. He did some horrible things, but he was my dad and I loved him. I still do." Mako could see that Asami was on the verge of tears again, and he lifted Avani up by her armpits and held her against him so that she was facing away from the inventor.

"Come on, I think we should go back inside for a bit." _Thank you_ , Asami mouthed at him.

"Ok Mak-Mak." _Do you want Korra?_ He mouthed back. She nodded mutely and he nodded back, before turning and walking quickly back to the reception hall.

"Why don't you go play with Bolin and Pabu?"

"I'm tired Mak-Mak." She said quietly. Mako looked down at her as a yawn stretched its way out of her mouth.

"Ok, well I'm sure Bo will let you sleep on him for a bit. Is that alright?"

"Can Pabu sleep with me too?"

"I'm sure he'd love to." Mako found his brother, tugging him away from Varrick. "Hey, do you mind looking after Avani for a bit? She's tired and I need to go get Korra."

"Sure, is everything alright?" Bolin asked as the girl was handed to him. Pabu crawled out of his inside pocket to see what was going on and licked Avani's cheek. She rubbed her fingers over the top ferret's head and mumbled something intelligible at him.

"Yeah its fine. Don't worry, we're not getting attacked or anything."

"Ok. Shout if you want something."

"Will do." Mako wormed his way between people until he found Korra talking seriously with Lin.

"-yeah we've removed all the police from the Spirit Portal, people can come and go as they please now."

"Well that's good. I wanted the portal to be as accessible as the ones in the North and South Poles."

"Sorry, do you mind if I cut in here?" Mako asked politely. "Korra, your wife needs you. She's out back by the willow tree."

"Is she ok?" The Avatar asked quickly, the detective's voice worrying her.

"Just go." Korra picked up the hem of her robes and looked back at Lin.

"Sorry about this, we'll talk later."

"Of course. I need to talk to this one about the Triads anyway." She said, jerking her thumb at Mako. The Avatar turned away and slipped out of the reception hall, jogging through the graveyard until she found her wife. Asami turned to look at her and neither of them said anything, Korra just grabbed her wife's hand and pulled her into a hug. The look on her face almost broke her heart, and she gently ran a hand through Asami's hair while holding her tight with the other arm. Asami gulped back tears as she buried her face into Korra's neck and breathed her in. It was a smell that she could never replicate – some kind of mixture of salt and perfume and coffee and something else she couldn't place. The scent wrapped around her and comforted her a little.

"I love you." Korra muttered in her ear. "I know you don't want to talk, so you don't need to say anything. Just remember I love you." This only made Asami cry harder, and her wife pulled her tighter. "Sshhh my love. Its ok. I'm here." Korra kissed her cheek and held on, rubbing her back. She started to sing quietly, just loud enough for her wife to hear – it was an old Water Tribe lullaby her father had sung to her when she was little. It told the story of how the moon gave the ocean her heart and how the ocean didn't know how to repay her. She didn't sing often, although occasionally her family much catch her humming to herself. Korra could feel the flat crystal of Asami's betrothal necklace between them and it reminded her of all the reasons she loved the woman in her arms. There wasn't anything in the world that would make her let go right now unless Asami wanted her to. Even if the Triads attacked or fire rained down on the earth, she wasn't going to let go until her wife stopped crying. It took a while for Asami to calm down, but eventually she released Korra.

"Sorry." She said hoarsely.

"What are you apologizing for?" The Avatar asked, holding her face in her hands.

"I've left a damp patch on your shoulder."

"Worth it. I couldn't let you stay out here on your own when you're like this."

"Thank you." She mumbled. Korra used a tiny air spout to lift herself up a couple of inches so she could place a kiss on Asami's forehead. The inventor closed her eyes briefly before she dropped back down.

"I told you, I love you. It's no problem. You're my gorgeous, wonderful, genius wife, I would do anything for you." Asami felt herself blushing, just like the first time Korra had complimented her like that all those years ago.

"Ok."

"Do you think you're ready to go inside? It's a bit chilly out here."

"Hang on, is my makeup ok?"

"You look beautiful."

"That doesn't answer my question. You still stay that when I've just woken up and its smeared halfway across my face and I haven't brushed my hair."

"You always look beautiful to me."

"Ok then, am I going to look like a panda when I go back to the reception?" Korra chuckled, and gently wiped under Asami's eyes with her thumbs.

"Not anymore." The inventor grabbed one of her hands had kissed the back before looking up into those bright cerulean eyes that she could never get enough of.

"Good. Lead the way Uh-vatar."

"Of course my love. Anything for you." _Even that?_ Her inner voice asked her. _Not now. That's something to worry about another day._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Took me long enough didn't it? I've been stuck in a bit of a rut lately, and lacking some inspriation, but I've finally managed to get this together in some kind of cohesive fashion, so well done to me. Please enjoy as per usual, and R &R if you want too.**_

 _ **Miss Buch x**_

* * *

 _Goodbye Mr A_

 _You had all the answers but no human touch_

 _If your life is subtraction, your number is up_

 _Your love is a fraction, it's not adding up._

 **Goodbye Mr A, The Hoosiers**

* * *

Korra was the one that woke up first. It wasn't a loud noise that had roused her from the edges of sleep, just something on the peripheral of her hearing that made her eyes snap open. It might have just been Naga moving about in the night like she did occasionally, or her daughter going to the bathroom to get a glass of water. On the other hand, it might be something a lot more sinister, and that was what bothering her. She reached out for the large vase near the bed that she had filled with water just in case, jostling her wife with her free hand. Asami mumbled something and Korra shook her harder until she sat up with her, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"What? What's going on?" One of the Avatar's hands clamped over her mouth to keep her quiet. Asami peeled it off just as a shadow moved in the hallway, and her ears picked up the sound of one of the floorboards creaking. _Two steps away, left side of the corridor,_ she thought _._

"Shit!" Korra muttered, jumping out of bed and sliding across the floor on her back to avoid the jet of fire that shot into the room. She threw the water out ahead of her and it slammed into the assailant and froze them against the wall instantly. "Get Avani!" She told Asami, who had already put a glove on and was making her way out of the room. Korra brought some more water from the vase over her head and onto the fire that was engulfing a chest of drawers. It splashed down heavily onto the piece of furniture and the flames went out. Meanwhile, Asami had thrown herself into Avani's room, and pulled frantically at the bedsheets, calling out her daughter's name. The little girl wasn't there. The inventor moved quickly to the window and her sharp eyes picked a what looked like a figure running for the driveway. Her hands reached for the windowsill, reading her to vault her body through the gap, but something hit her in the back of the head and she collapsed onto the floor with a grunt. Taking more water with her, Korra ran ahead to Avani's room to find her wife lying on the floor. "Asami!" She knelt down and tapped her cheek a few times. _Out cold. Damnit_. Korra jumped over to the window, catching sight of one of the assailants running for the front gate. _Oh no you don't!_ The Avatar threw herself out of the open window and hit the ground a second later, rolling up and running towards them. She completed a somersault to avoid a piece of rock that was thrown at her. Landing on her feet again, she punched several jets of fire at them, but they were getting further away, running towards the lights of a car. Korra increased her speed, throwing up as much earth as she could near the car as the man jumped in and it started to drive away. "No!" Korra slid the water between her hands, turning it to a long ice spike and throwing it as hard as she could at them. It flew away and pierced the ground a few metres short of the car, which was gaining speed. She was tempted to rip up the ground beneath them, but ever since Kuvira had destroyed half the city a few years back, the infrastructure of the earth beneath would not appreciate her tampering with it. Knowing her luck, half the west side would cave in. _Oh god, they've got Avani!_ She thought, pushing her hands frustratedly through her short hair. "Stop panicking." She muttered to herself. _Focus. What would Asami say? I can't keep up with the car, so there is no point going after it. Asami is out cold, I'll just have to wait for her to come around. Where are all the police that were around the house? I don't know. Screw that, where's Naga? She would have started barking like crazy if there were intruders in the house._ Korra turned around on herself, whistling for her polarbear dog but there was no noise in response. She ran back into the house, searching the living room and then the kitchen. Korra let out a scream of fear when she saw her polarbear dog lying limp on the kitchen floor, dark red blood pooled beneath her and staining her fur. The animal's breathing was short and shallow, and Korra could see her chest moving quickly as she tried to get more air in. The Avatar automatically streamed water out of the tap and settled it onto the wound that was bleeding out onto the floorboards. Someone had slashed across Naga's belly to keep her quiet. The water started to glow, and Korra mumbled soft words to her friend as she focused on healing the cut while tears dripped down her face. "No, p-please don't, you can't. Naga…stay with me girl…I'm g-going to make you better; I-I promise." Her voice cracked over the words but at least the water was working, the polarbear dog's breathing had become more even. She saw Naga open her eyes, and the one that wasn't facing the floor turned to see Korra's face. "That's my girl." She scratched the animal's head and growled at her before refocusing on the wound, trying to heal it from the inside out. It took longer than she wanted, but she had done the best she could considering the circumstances. _I can clean up the blood later. Call Chief Beifong idiot!_ She suddenly thought. Korra grabbed the phone in the kitchen and dialled the number.

"What do you want? Its two in the morning!" Came a tired and quite irritated voice after a few moments.

"Chief, they took Avani!" Korra heard a thump and a loud curse as Lin fell out of bed. Tears were starting to form in her eyes again, the realisation of what had happened hitting her full force, and she wiped them away quickly.

"What?!"

"Some, uh, some people came to my house and ah-fuck they daughter my daughter Lin!"

"Calm down Korra." The older woman said sternly. "Take a breath."

"Ok." The Avatar took a shuddering breath and steeled herself, blinking away the tears.

"I'm going to call this in. And I'll be over with Mako and few others ASAP. Right now, make sure Asami is alright. Try not to move too much of your stuff, your house is now a crime scene."

"Ok."

"I'll be over soon. I'll put out roadblocks too, try and cut off the kidnappers. Did you see what kind of cars they were driving?"

"I think they were Satomobiles."

"Of course. Fastest cars in the city." Lin chewed her lip as she opened the door to her wardrobe, revealing her uniform. "Number plates?"

"No, there wasn't enough light."

"Ok. I've got to go, but I promise we are going to find who took your daughter."

"Thanks Lin." The line went dead and Korra put down the phone, pushing some stray hair away from her face. Heading back to Avani's room, she picked up Asami and carried her to the living room to place her carefully on the sofa. She went quickly back to their bedroom to grab a blanket from one of the drawers. There was a large puddle of water on the floor where the firebender had melted the ice to escape – on his way out he had broken through the glass screen and jumped off the balcony. It looked like the shrubbery beneath had broken his fall. Night wind was blowing in, and it swirled around Korra, ruffling her short hair. The bottom drawer where they kept spare blankets looked relatively undamaged after the thing had caught fire earlier. Her face crumpled slightly when she saw what had been a picture frame on the floor just next to the chest of drawers. The image was blackened and singed inside the frame now, and Korra grit her teeth as her mind filled in the blanks for her, producing a picture of Asami holding their baby daughter in her arms with her wife next to her. Bolin had painted that for them. She took a breath and put it back on top the burnt chest of drawers, opening the bottom one and pulling out a thick purple blanket. It took her a moment to get back to her wife, who hadn't moved from her unconscious position on the sofa. She unfolded the blanket and covered Asami with it before settling herself just next to her while she waited for her to wake up.

* * *

"He took our daughter Asami." Korra said quietly. Her wife had found her sitting outside, cross legged on the ground with one of her hands out, holding a small flame half an inch or so above her palm. The air was still tonight, and Asami could see the lights of the city not that far from them. There were a few lights on in people's windows, and her wife was sitting on the grass in the garden, her face illuminated by the fire in her hand. Less than 24 hours had gone by since Avani had been kidnapped and Asami's stomach had had a horrible knotted feeling in it the entire time. The police had gotten to their home not long after she had woken up and promptly burst into tears when Korra had told her that their daughter was gone. Lin, Mako and the rest of the team had combed their house and the surrounding area, but nothing had been found that would give them any leads. All the police that had been guarding their home and all been knocked out, and in one case, mildly injured, but none of them had been killed to get to Avani. Against Korra's wishes, Asami had gone into the office today – mostly to have a long conversation with Varrick about the new engines they were using in the Satomobiles, but also to talk to the police there. She had had enough of them crawling around her home.

"What are you going to do?"

"If he's lucky, I will kill him."

"Korra-"

"That man doesn't deserve that kind of mercy, you know that." Asami sighed and sat down in front of her. She was tired and dishevelled. All day she had been working on trying to find out who the man was, and several times she had had to stop because thoughts of Avani kept clouding her mind. She was terrified that her daughter was dead or worse. She had put her company on her hold for the minute as she had talks with the police and friends about what had happened. Mako had thrown himself into helping her, and had even gone out to get her some lunch after he noticed she hadn't been eating. Eventually he had forced her to come home, and she reluctantly had. It wasn't a long drive, but she had taken a more scenic route in the hope that it would clear her head. It hadn't. Upon getting home, she had changed out of her work clothes and into one of her wife's shirts and a pair of pyjama bottoms and tied up her hair in a haphazard bun. She had thrown on the parka that Senna had made for her when she visited the South Pole for the first time, since it was chilly that evening. It was dark blue and lined with the fur to keep her warm. Korra stared at the fire in her hand, the edges of flame licking at her fingers.

"What are you doing?"

"Exercising my self-control. The flame can't get any larger than this, and if I shrink it, it will die. So it has to stay the same size." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "If I get too angry I'm going to burn my eyebrows off."

"We have to get Avani back."

"I know."

"Before he hurts her."

"It's too late for that. At least we know he won't kill her, because he wants us. So either he shows us the way, or we find him ourselves." Asami closed her eyes briefly, focusing on not crying. She pushed some stray clumps of hair away from her face and sighed.

"What if he does the same thing to Avani that he did to Raiko?" She mumbled into her lap. Korra blinked a couple of times, trying to push away her imagination that was providing her with bloody images of exploding heads. "He won't. If he wanted to kill Avani, he would have done it last night. If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it last night. And all of the police are fine as well. He's just playing some sadistic game with us." She paused, biting her lip as she thought carefully about what she was going to say next. "Asami I-I love you. And I hate saying this, but in order to beat this guy, I might have to do something I promised I never would." The inventor frowned and looked up at her. Korra kept her eyes firmly fixed on the fire in her hand.

"What is it?"

"Bloodbending." Korra said darkly. The fire rose in her hand for a second, but she quelled it.

"C-can you even do that?"

"Yeah. Remember when I was poisoned? After leaving the South Pole, while I was travelling, I went to some pretty dark places. Being haunted by visions of myself in the Avatar State and Zaheer asphyxiating me just sent me in this downward spiral. And one day I just needed something to change. I couldn't go on anymore just dragging myself from place to place. I was so tired of being scared all the time, I needed something that would give me more power. It was horrible, just feeling so useless. And just practicing my firebending wasn't cutting it anymore. I knew the mechanics of bloodbending, and I it didn't take me long to be able to do it. When you become a master of waterbending, this-" Korra drew some water from the air with her free hand and spooled it together into a ball. "-becomes second nature. With bloodbending its different. There is that barrier between you and the water. It has its own path it needs to travel and you are redirecting it. You have control over every muscle in someone's body. Their very life force is in your hands. And that is power _no one_ should have. When I reconnected with you guys and got the metal out of me, I swore I would never do it again." Asami blinked a few times, processing the information.

"Show me."

"What?!" The fire went out as she lost concentration and the water spilled into her lap. The Avatar swore at herself, pulling the water out of her leggings and dashing it into the grass. Asami bit her lip.

"I said show me."

"Are you crazy? It's illegal!"

"I know, but the police aren't here watching us, so nobody is going to find out unless you tell them."

"Are you sure?" Korra asked. Her wife took her hands in hers and gently rubbed her thumbs over the backs.

"I don't like bloodbending anymore than you do. And yes I know it's illegal. But if this guy is as good as he seems, he knows everything about us. So we're going to need an edge. If no one knows but you and me that you can do this, then he won't know either. We have to do whatever it takes to get Avani back. That includes bloodbending." Korra let out a shaky breath and nodded at her.

"Ok. Sit next to me." Asami did as she was told as her wife held out a hand, palm facing ahead of them, fingers relaxed with her eyes closed. Korra moved her hand slowly from side to side until she found what she was looking for. Her eyes snapped open and the muscles in her hand tensed as she lifted her arm. Asami watched as a spider rat appeared out of the top of a shrub, following Korra's hand. The rodent tried to squirm in her grip, but couldn't move as the Avatar exerted more control over it, her fingers moving and making its body jerk and rotate in the air. It squeaked out in pain as it was flipped over a couple of times before being lowered to the ground. Korra sighed and let go of the rodent, which scuttled quickly back into the bush. "There."

"Do you think you could do that to a person? It might be the only way to beat his own bending."

"I suppose we'll just have to cross the bridge when we get there. I don't want to use it if I don't have to." Asami nodded silently, looking down at the grass beneath her. Korra stood up abruptly and put out her hand for her wife. "Come on, let's get inside. It's getting cold out here." Asami looked into the Avatar's face and pursed her lips for a second.

"Ok."

* * *

Asami stared blankly out of the window, her eyes unfocused. It was early morning, and yet again, she couldn't sleep. It was raining outside, and the drops of water pattered heavily against the roof of their home. Naga was sleeping soundly in the corner, some bandages placed over her stomach to help the wound heal. The panda lilies Korra had brought home a few days ago had wilted over themselves in the glass vase, and a few dry petals had dropped off and onto the table. That day felt like a lifetime ago. The air in the room was still, and the inventor didn't notice the sounds of quiet padding footsteps in the hallway.

"Asami?"

"Hm?" She blinked in surprise and turned to see Korra standing in the doorway, frowning at her. She was still in her vest and pyjama bottoms, hair sticking up at some funny angles.

"Are you ok?" A half-hearted smile appeared on her face as an answer before looked down at the tea she had made for herself. Trying to bring back a small sense of normality to her life, she picked up the cup, taking a sip from it. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, finding out that it stone cold. Her wife watched as her normally bright green eyes came into view, now a dark mossy colour.

"No." She said softly. Korra wound her way around the table and sat next to her.

"How long have you been sitting here for?"

"I don't know." Asami didn't cry – maybe she couldn't anymore, it felt like that was all she had been doing over the past couple of days. Her hands were shaking though, and her wife took them in her own, holding on tightly. "I heard that conversation you had with the policeman yesterday."

"Oh. I uh, didn't really want you know about that."

" _Will you please calm down Avatar Korra!"_

" _Calm down?! Are you kidding me?!" She stood up from the chair and slammed her hands into the table. "Listen to me, because I am only going to say this once. I am the Avatar! I can level mountains with one hand! I can set off volcanoes! I could bring the ocean right over Republic City and set crashing down if I wanted to! But if I can't protect my own family, then what…the hell…. is the point of me?!" She shouted angrily at him. The policeman stared back in disbelief. "Your men were supposed to protect my home – they were supposed to stop something like this happening, and they failed and Avani is gone! So either you save my daughter and find that man and question him or put him prison or whatever. Or I find him, and don't get me wrong, I will kill him. I don't do second chances – the only way he comes out of this alive is if someone stops me, not because I want to. Do you understand me?!" He nodded quickly at her. "I don't care if I have to rip the city apart to get her back, I will do it. So I suggest you stop telling me to calm down, because I'm way past angry already, and you find my daughter before I start looking."_

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't burn his face off." Asami muttered. The corner of Korra's mouth twitched.

"I meant what I said."

"You shouldn't shout at the police; they are just trying to help us."

"I know." Korra sighed before placing her hand over the top of Asami's cup. When she removed it the tea was steaming. "But I can't just sit around not doing anything while some nutter is doing spirits-knows-what to our daughter." Asami didn't say anything to this, just picked up her tea and took a sip of the now hot liquid. Korra edged herself closer and put her head on her wife's shoulder, closing her eyes. There was a dull throbbing in her head that she hadn't been able to get rid of since Avani had been taken, no matter how much she tried to heal it with water bending. Asami kissed her forehead and put an arm around the Avatar.

"I don't know what to do either my love. But yelling about it isn't going to help us, and it certainly won't bring Avani back. We should let the police do their jobs."

"I hate all this waiting." Korra's ears twitched as she heard a quiet growl coming from the corner of the room. She looked over to see Naga slowly getting up. "No girl. Stay down, you need to rest." The polarbear dog gave her a look that told the Avatar that she didn't care as she plodded softly over and placed her head in Korra's lap, folding her legs beneath her. Asami reached over and scratched behind Naga's ear.

"Do you think you could sniff Avani out?" The inventor asked. She heard a whine from the animal, which confirmed what she knew was already true – her daughter was too far away for Naga to track her. She sighed as the polarbear dog licked her hand. "We'll get Avani back. Just you wait."

* * *

"There's a good girl. It will all be over soon." The man tilted his head to the side as he bent the tears away from her cheek before lazily flicking it back so that it cut into her shoulder. The dark eyed girl didn't make a sound, just stared down at the concrete floor beneath her. Her wrists and ankles were bruised and aching from being strung up by ropes to a hard wooden chair. One of her arms had been numb for a while now, but she didn't know how long – the man had done something earlier and her elbow had cracked loudly. She was scared, but her parents had taught her to be brave, so she was going to do just that. "Look at me." Avani didn't move. "I won't ask you again." He said calmly, twirling a few droplets of water between his fingers. Still the small girl didn't move, just blinked some more tears out of her eyes so that they fell down her face rather than blurred her vision. "I said look at me you little bitch!" He suddenly shouted, his large hand curling up and slamming into her face. Avani let out a scream of pain as blood filled her mouth. A sob clawed its way up her throat as she looked up at him, her eyes watery. The man tucked some of her hair behind her ear for her before grabbing her chin to force her face up so she could see him better. "You should learn to listen little girl. It might help."

"My mama will stop you." She muttered angrily, blood spilling out of the corner of her mouth. The man's bark of laughter cracked around the empty room and bounced off the walls.

"I don't think you realise how strong I really am little one." It hurt Avani, hearing this horrible man using the nickname that was only for her parents.

"She is stronger than you. Mummy will help her find you and then the p'licemen will get you."

"That's what I'm counting on."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sooooo, yes I know I haven't touched this fic in way to long, I'm sorry. But here's another chapter, I'm aiming to get more out soon, with much shorter gaps between each chapter. Thank you!**_

 _ **Miss Buch x**_

* * *

 _And I don't wanna see what I've seen_

 _To undo what has been done_

 _Turn off all the lights_

 _Let the morning come_

 **Over the Love, Florence and the Machine**

* * *

"You need to go home." Korra opened her eyes, looking over at Bolin, who was watching her with concern clear on his face. His arms were folded across his broad chest, and she turned her face back into her lap, chewing on her lip.

"I don't want to go home yet." She mumbled. "The house…it doesn't feel right without her."

"You've been on the vines for ages. If you were going to find Avani that way, you would have by now."

"I don't understand Bo – why can't I find her? I've checked the Spirit World and I've searched all over Republic City. You don't think she's-she's dead, do you?" Bolin frowned a little, debating about how much he could sugar coat this.

"He's probably just got her holed up somewhere the vines can't reach." The Avatar bit her lip, her face crumpling. Bolin gave her a hand to pull herself up on. "Just go home. We'll get her back, and you know the police are doing their best."

"I've never been this scared in my life Bo." Korra admitted quietly. "Nothing that's ever happened to me compares to this. I can't eat, my head has been killing me since she was taken, and I don't know what to do. She's my daughter Bo, I can't lose her!"

"You won't Korra – you and I both know that you would do anything to get Avani back. And you will. But you need to look after yourself and Asami in the meantime. I know you guys are stressed and worried, we all are. But it's not going to help." Korra's eyes flicked to him for a minute and then looked back down at her boots.

"I know." She sighed. "How can you be so calm about all this?"

"Someone has to keep you in check. Now go home." The Avatar shook her head.

"I hate being in the house these days… Every time I see Asami's face…I just feel guilty. Maybe I could have done more, what if I'd made more of an effort to stop the car? What if I'd jumped on an air scooter and gone after them?" Bolin punched her the arm.

"Then Naga would be dead, and so might you and Avani. Stop being stupid." He said bluntly. Korra rubbed her arm. "Asami doesn't blame you for what happened, that's just the media getting to your head. You did your best. Now go home and get some sleep." He said firmly. Blue eyes settled on his face, and he wondered for a moment if he had crossed a line.

"Thanks Bo." She said quietly.

"Anytime Korra."

* * *

Asami rubbed one of her eyes tiredly as a yawn stretched its way out of her mouth. Korra was snoring softly next to her, and as seemed the norm these days, the inventor couldn't sleep. She had tried for a while tonight, but her attempts had been unsuccessful, so eventually she had given up and turned on the small lamp on the bedside table so she could at least read to keep her mind busy. The Avatar shifted slightly in her sleep, mumbling something quietly that Asami couldn't make out. She gently carded her fingers through her wife's soft hair to soothe her, and Korra nuzzled her head into her side. A small smile played about Asami's lips, and she went back to her book. It was some silly romance novel that Bolin had gotten for her a few months ago, not really her kind of book, but it was the first thing she could find in the shelf inside the bedside table, and she couldn't be bothered to get out of bed to go and find something better. A little while later, she heard more mumbling and looked down to see Korra frowning.

"No….don't….." _Shit, she must be having a nightmare_ , Asami thought. "Stop….No….." Asami put down her book and gently shook her wife's shoulder. Korra's face screwed up, a growl coming up out of her throat as she started to writhe in bed.

"Korra? Korra! Wake up!" Suddenly the Avatar's eyes snapped open, glowing a bright white and Asami was thrown out of bed by a large gust of wind. She rolled across the floor before her back hit the wardrobe, halting her movements. "Korra!" She shouted. "Wake up! It's not real!" Her wife rose higher into the air, wind billowing around her. Their furniture was rocking around, and papers were flying through the air. Asami managed to gather herself up and pushed against the gale force winds towards Korra. It took her longer than she wanted, but eventually she managed to grab the Avatar's hand and pulled her down, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Korra." She said into her ear. "Wake up. I'm here – please, it's not real!" The light dimmed, and her wife slumped in the bed. The Avatar blinked a few times in surprise, her eyes landing on Asami.

"I'm so sorry 'Sami, are you ok?"

"Are _you_ ok? You nearly sent me out the window!" She said. Korra's eyes flickered in the light of the bedside table – the lampshade was crooked now, and it sent light off at odd angles.

"I saw her."

"What?! Do you know where she is?! Is she ok?!" The Avatar shook her head numbly. Asami rearranged herself on the edge of the bed. "Tell me what you saw." Korra looked down into her lap.

"It was just a nightmare, I'm sorry." Asami sighed, rubbing her hand worriedly against the side of her head. "It was so real 'Sami…and I couldn't stop him…"

"Do you think you'll go back to sleep?"

"No." Korra mumbled. "Not after seeing that." She hurriedly pushed the tears away from her eyes with the heel of her hand. Asami didn't say anything, just pulled her in for hug, and the two women sat there holding each other until the sun started to rise, the light sparkling off their damp cheeks.

* * *

"What have we got then?" Lin asked. Mako pursed his lips, unable to brush away the images in his head from what was behind the door next to them.

"I'd put some gloves on Chief. It's pretty bad in there." She raised an eyebrow as he passed her a pair of leather gloves. "Two dead in there, both with the method that Korra described. Each of them Triad members. Rokai and Terra – twin earthbenders, born in the city. Been working for the Triads since they were 15." Lin pushed open the door and grit her teeth as soon as her eye processed the information in front of her. _That's a lot of blood_ , she thought. Mako stepped in behind her – he had already seen the crime scene this morning, but that didn't make any of this better. He didn't like this part of the job. The people that had been killed weren't even that much younger than him. What was left of the bodies were shrivelled up shells of people, with the skin stuck taught over the bones. Neither of them had heads anymore. Blood was splattered all over the room and had dried to the stonework. The smell of iron filled the air and Mako could taste it in his mouth.

"What are we supposed to do with all this?" He asked his superior. Lin sighed as she tried to think.

"We'll we're no closer to finding the guy than we were yesterday. Do we know what these guys did to get bumped off?"

"Not yet. I'm going to talk to Shady Shin later."

"I'll call in forensics and the clean-up team for now. This is a mess. Let me know what you get from Shady Shin. In the meantime I'm going to talk to Korra and Asami, let them know what happened."

"Bo told me that they aren't doing so great."

"How do you expect them to be? Their daughter is gone, possibly dead, and they can't do anything about it. All they can do is keep their heads up and let us do our jobs."

"Korra threatened Li the other day."

"She did?"

"Yeah he told her to calm down and she lost it with him."

"I mean, in her defence, you don't just tell the most powerful person the world to calm down when she feels like her life is falling apart." Mako shrugged, conceding her point. "I'll have a word with her. Good luck with Shady Shin." Lin turned on her heel and left the room, leaving her gloves behind as she headed back to the police station to start writing up the report.

* * *

"Korra, what are you doing?" Asami asked, leaning against the back door, a slightly bemused expression on her face. She wasn't smiling, but it was better than how flat and emotionless she had been over the last couple of days. Her eyes had dark rings under them from lack of sleep, and she was starting to feel the fatigue in her muscles after this many days of trying to push through the tiredness.

"I'm beating the crap out of this dummy." Korra launched a kick at the dummy, the dull thud of wood against her leg calmed her slightly. She knew it would bruise, but that meant she was training properly. Her foot came back down and she immediately moved into a flip that sent a spiral of air at the dummy. It was bent away from her, then sprung back.

"Well yes, I can see that, but what I really want to know is why?"

"Why do you think?"

"You know we've got a council meeting in half an hour?" The Avatar froze, the flames that enveloped one of her arms extinguishing.

"Yeeahhhh?" She drawled out.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Asami started to walk over, hands on hips.

"I think you'll forgive me if I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."

"Come on, you need a shower before we go." Both women started to head into their house.

"Fine ok. But you're missing out on prime Korra workout time."

"What are you on about?" Asami could feel a blush starting to creep into her cheeks – she knew exactly what her wife was talking about. Korra raised an eyebrow at her in response.

"I know you like to watch me workout."

"Don't be silly Korra. I'm far too busy for that kind of thing." Her wife gently elbowed her in the side, a smirk creeping onto her face.

"You can't lie to me 'Sami."

"Yeah well I know you've got a thing about me putting my tights or stockings on!"

"It just looks nice when you point your feet!" Korra said indignantly. Then, for the first time in what felt like weeks, Asami laughed. She burst into a fit of giggles at the look on her wife's face, which only got worse because now the inventor was laughing at her.

"I love you." Asami said through the giggles.

"Its nice to see you laugh again." Korra's face softened, and she brushed a few stray wisps of hair out of the investor's face. Her wife stopped laughing and stood still for a moment, guilt suddenly washing over her. _How can I laugh when my daughter is gone? Someone could be torturing her right now and I wouldn't even know_. Any trace of her laughter was gone, and Korra saw the stark change in her face. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, folding her arms across her chest and staring at the ground.

"For what?"

"If…if I'd been s-stronger…A-avani…." Korra grit her teeth, unable to finish her sentence. Her jaw clenched and she stepped around her wife. "Lets just go to the council meeting." Asami felt tears creep into her eyes as her wife walked away from her and into the house. The breeze blew some of her hair in to her face and she shook her head, sighing to herself. She looked up and stared at the bright sky above her. The inventor sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to centre herself. Her stomach knotted and rolled over.

* * *

 _Why didn't we go through the back door?_ Korra thought as she was lead towards a podium that had a mob of media types in front of it. Someone had caught wind that they were going to have a council meeting and now they wanted some statements from her and the chief of police. Lin grimaced at her in apology and stepped away from the podium so Korra could stand in front of the microphones. The Avatar grit her teeth for a moment, then steeled herself, seeing Asami off to the side of the journalists. Her wife looked tired, and despite trying to put a smile on her face for Korra, it wasn't helping. Many of the journalists were trying to climb over each other to get her attention and the Avatar stood up straight, making it clear that she was ready to talk.

"One at a time please. If you could all be quiet as well, that would be very helpful." She made sure she sounded as polite as possible, and camera's flashed in front of her as she started speaking. She pointed at a journalist in a red jacket.

"Avatar Korra, do you know anything about President Raiko's death?" The Avatar kept her face on neutral as her pelts flapped in the breeze.

"No comment."

"Avatar Korra, I'm from the Daily Republic, how do you feel about the police's negligence in protecting your family?" She frowned at him, and then looked at Lin, who's hands were balled by her sides. The police chief swallowed down the guilt that was rising in her throat. She knew that her men weren't negligent at all, but she still felt partially responsible to Avani's kidnapping. Perhaps if she had been there herself this wouldn't have happened.

"The police were not negligent in protecting my family. They were attacked by the Triads, and some of them were injured while they were trying to protect my home. The police work hard to look after this city and keep it safe. They did their best, and while I am upset about the situation, I do not blame the police for my daughter's disappearance." Korra breathed out, hard. Asami had stopped smiling. Her stomach was twisting and churning, and she could feel tears starting to brim in her eyes. Korra picked out a new journalist.

"Do you think that Republic City is safe with the recent rise in Triad activity?"

"The police and I are doing our best to protect the city and the people in it. We will do what we can to take down the Triads and keep people safe."

"Avatar Korra, forgive me if this is comes off as obvious, but if your own daughter was kidnapped, then how can we, the people, expect you or the police to protect anyone else?" Korra's stomach dropped out of her body, and her hands started to shake. She wanted to send the man flying into the Yue Bay, but Lin stepped in before she could throw up an earth pillar beneath him.

"There will be no further questions, thank you for your time." She quickly guided Korra off the podium and Asami joined them before they headed into the council building. Cameras flashed the entire time, disorientating them slightly as they opened the door, while journalists shouted more questions at them. As soon as the door was closed, Korra grabbed her wife into a hug.

"Are you ok?" Asami asked into her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Asami let her go and frowned at her disapprovingly. _Liar_ , she thought. Korra turned to Lin. "I'm sorry about that Chief, those questions were harsh." Lin shrugged at her.

"I should be the one apologising, you guys are stuck in this situation and the media are treating you like bad parents. You guys did your best, I want you to know that." Asami's eyes were downcast and she stared resolutely at the floor.

"Let's just get to the council meeting." She said hoarsely. Korra frowned at her and then nodded. They headed upstairs, finding the rest of the council in their seats already. The trio found their places and Tenzin stood up. He wasn't comfortable taking what would normally be Raiko's role in the council but there wasn't much he could do about it now. After Kuvira's rise to power, they had re-introduced the council to Republic City, with delegates from the four nations (elected by members of their home nations), and then elected officials from the Republic like Raiko as the president and Asami, since she was the head of the largest technology company in the world. And since Korra had saved the world more than once, she had been voted into the council too.

"I'm sorry about the situation outside, I didn't know that the media would be here. I would suggest when we leave later, we head out the back door." He looked at Lin. "Do we have any updates from the police?"

"So we've had a couple murders that look like they were killed in the method that Korra described. They were also consistent with the what we've got of Raiko." She paused for a moment, guilt starting to rise up in her throat again as she turned to look at the Avatar and her wife. Asami didn't even look like she was really listening and Korra was chewing her lip to pieces. "In terms of finding your daughter, I'm sorry but I don't think we're much closer than we were the last time we spoke. Detective Mako is in the process of interviewing a couple of Triad members to get some more information, as soon as we have anything of use, we'll let you know." Korra nodded.

"Is it safe for any of us to be in the city right now?" asked the Fire Nation delegate.

"Safe enough. The police will still cover you in and out of the city, so you should be fine. From what I know about the Triad's movements and how things have transpired so far, I doubt that you'll be attacked on your way out of the city and back to your home nations."

"Do you think having the Kyoshi Warriors in the city would help? At the moment they are split between Kyoshi Island and Ba Sing Se, but maybe shifting some of our resources around to Republic City might be helpful." Lin mulled it over for a minute.

"I think we'll be ok. I don't want more people getting involved and getting hurt that needs be. The police here will continue to do their jobs, and hopefully we'll get some leads soon."

"I'm sure some of the airbenders would be happy to help protect the city, it is their home after all." Tenzin said. "We don't want to take away resources from Ba Sing Se, you need to be protected too." The Earth Kingdom delegate nodded in agreement.

"What direction are the police taking their investigation in?" Korra asked.

"We're hoping that, the more we get into the Triads, the closer we'll get to your daughter. I've got my best people on the case."

"I know Chief."

"I do have word that there's supposed to be a new shipment of explosives supposed to be coming into the city in the next couple of days, so we've planted a few of our men undercover at the docks in preparation for that."

"Do you know what the explosives are supposed to be used for?"

"Blowing things up normally." Lin said drily. Tenzin gave her a disapproving look. "I don't know what the plans are for the explosives, but if we stop this shipment from getting in, that will put a spanner in the works for the Triads."

"Where do we go from here then?" Tenzin pursed his lips for a moment.

"I think our best option would be to stay at our respective homes and try to keep ourselves protected. We can let the police do their jobs. Since some of these council meetings have been such short notice, Unka of the Norther Water Tribe hasn't been able to make them all, and I think he might have the right idea. If we can stay out of the limelight, we'll be harder to target by the media at least. I also think we should start making our only contact by radio or for longer range, using messenger hawks."

"Who still uses messenger hawks?" Letora frowned at the Airbender. The Earth Kingdom man hadn't seen one in the last 15 years.

"They are still around in certain areas where the distances are too far to cross on foot. And since the terrain in the water tribes can be so variable, they use them up there."

"Why don't we centralise all communications to Air Temple Island?" Lin cut in.

"I can do some work on the radio systems to improve the number of signals you can take in at once." Asami finally spoke, her voice hoarse, but at least showing that she had been listening to the conversation.

"Really?" Asked Tenzin.

"I'll need a day or so, but I can have something sent to you by tomorrow night."

"Perfect, thank you Mrs Sato."

"Is there any other business?" Lin asked the room. Everyone had lapsed into silence now. Korra looked at her wife, seeing the cogs starting to turn in her head as she started the work on a new project. "Good. I suggest we all get going then."

* * *

Avani woke up slowly, her head pounding. She sat upright, rubbing her eyes and then looking around. She was still there. There was a cup of water not far from her and she grabbed it, gulping down the liquid quickly. Her arm was hanging from her side, it felt heavy but didn't hurt. The scary man wasn't there. The girl immediately ran for one of the doors, pulling at the handle. It didn't budge. She slapped her good hand against it and shouted out for her mummy and mama, hoping that they could hear her. Pain suddenly shot up her injured arm as it was dragged away from her body, and she stumbled away from the door as she was pulled towards the man that bending the liquid in her body.

"Calm down little one, they aren't here." Tears were streaming down Avani's face, all the energy she might have had disappearing as her body crumpled in front of him. The man smirked at her, and she didn't fight at all when he re-tied her hands behinds her back and propped her up in a chair. She looked up at him, her eyes desperate and terrified. "I untied you as an act of kindness. I guess you didn't deserve it since you tried to escape."

"I want….I want to g-go ho-home…" She mumbled. The man laughed at her, ruffling her hair.

"Sorry I've got plans for you. You're staying here." Avani started crying harder as the man walked away from her, heading out of the door and locking it behind him.

"No!" She shouted out after him, pulling frustratedly at the ropes, the pain in her arm getting worse. This just made her cry more, and she slumped defeatedly in the chair, tears dripping into her lap.


End file.
